Earthquake survivor in Venezuela: ‘The Miraculous Medal saved me’
Kamar Galíndez, a 53‑year‑old lawyer, survived two earthquakes in Playa Grande, La Guaira, Venezuela, on June 24, 2026. While on the top floor of Chipi’s Beach Hotel, the building collapsed, trapping him under rubble; he remained conscious and prayed for help. He credited his survival to the Miraculous Medal of Our Lady, which he was wearing and later found in his pocket after the collapse. The earthquakes caused thousands of deaths and widespread destruction across the region, but Galíndez emerged virtually unharmed after rescue.
3 months ago
The June 24, 2026 twin earthquakes that devastated La Guaira, Venezuela, left thousands dead and injured, but one survivor, lawyer Kamar Galíndez, says he was spared through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the unexpected appearance of his Miraculous Medal in a pocket of his shorts. 1 2 3
At 6:05 p.m. on Wednesday, June 24 — the feast day of St. John the Baptist and a national holiday commemorating the Battle of Carabobo — two strong tremors struck the coastal city of La Guaira. The shaking caused the top‑floor of Chipi’s Beach Hotel in the Playa Grande neighborhood to collapse, trapping residents under rubble. 1
Galíndez, a 53‑year‑old lawyer, was preparing for his daily gym workout when the building began to sway “like an air‑hockey puck.” The floor split, the structure tilted, and the section he occupied fell straight down, pinning his chest with a massive beam and breaking his left arm. He remained conscious, breathing through the debris, and repeatedly prayed for mercy and calm while signaling for help. After an unknown period that “felt like an eternity,” a rescuer helped him break free and he made his way out of the collapsed hotel on his own. 2
During the collapse the chain holding his small crucifix and Miraculous Medal broke. While receiving first‑aid from two young helpers, Galíndez asked them to place his watch in a zippered pocket of his shorts; when he later checked, the broken piece of the chain and the medal were inexplicably inside the pocket. He credits this “small miracle” to the intercession of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal and says it confirmed his belief that the Virgin protected him. 3
Official figures released after the disaster list 3,535 deaths and 16,740 injuries in Venezuela, with independent groups estimating tens of thousands of people still missing. The tragedy has prompted international rescue efforts and highlighted the vulnerability of coastal communities to seismic events. 1 2
Does the Miraculous Medal constitute a tangible sign of divine protection?
Yes—in Catholic teaching the Miraculous Medal is a tangible sacred sign associated with divine (God’s) protection, but it should be understood in the Church’s precise way: as a sacramental that disposes and helps the faithful through the Church’s prayer and intercession, not as an automatic guarantee or a magical “talisman.”
The Catechism explains that sacramentals are “sacred signs instituted by the Church” that prepare people to receive the fruit of the sacraments and sanctify circumstances of life.
It also teaches that sacramentals include prayer (often with a specific sign).
So, when a person wears or uses a medal, the “tangible sign” aspect is real: it is a material object that is meaningfully connected to the Church’s prayer and the believer’s faith.
The Catechism further states that sacramentals do not confer grace in the same way sacraments do, but “by the Church’s prayer, they prepare us to receive grace and dispose us to cooperate with it.”
This is the key to understanding “divine protection”: the Church teaches a spiritual effect (help, graces, protection against evil) is sought through prayer and intercession, not through a mechanical power attached to the object.
The Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy identifies Marian medals as:
It also says the Church blesses such Marian devotional objects “in the belief that ‘they help to remind the faithful of the love of God, and to increase trust in the Blessed Virgin Mary.’”
So the Miraculous Medal is not only permitted; it is described as a sign of trust in protection—a protection sought within the Church’s devotional and prayer framework.
The same Directory explicitly warns that the Miraculous Medal is “never to be regarded as a talisman or lead to any form of blind credulity.”
It further explains that the promise of “great graces” requires:
This is consistent with the Catechism’s broader teaching that sacramentals work through the Church’s prayer and the believer’s disposition to receive grace.
The Miraculous Medal is indeed a tangible sign connected to divine assistance and protection, because it is a Marian sacramental/pious object that expresses faith and trust and is supported by the Church’s blessings and prayer.
At the same time, Catholics must not treat it as a magical guarantee: it is not a talisman, and its fruit depends on prayer, faith, and moral life.