A “Way” for the Chilean Miners

A small copy of St. Josemaria's book "The Way" was sent down to the 33 miners while they were trapped underground at the San José mine in Chile.

As the result of the initiative of some faithful of Opus Dei, a small copy of The Way was sent down to the 33 miners while they were trapped underground.at the San José copper and gold mine in northern Chile. 33 scapular medals and prayer cards of St. Josemaria and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel were also sent to them.

To do so the greatest obstacle was the book’s size. The regular-sized edition didn’t fit in the  5-foot-long blue plastic capsules nicknamed palomas ("doves," referring to the role of carrier pigeons) that took an hour to reach the miners. Finally someone offered to donate a very small edition published many years ago in Argentina that would fit in the paloma .

All the miners were pulled to safety last Wednesday after beng trapped underground since August 5.

On October 5, Benedict XVI was presented with a Chilean flag signed by all 33 miners. The Pope said that he hung it in his apartment and prayed for the men every day. When the miners were rescued, Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, offered the following challenge:

"Will the marvelous commitment of intelligence and passion that went toward saving the 33 lives not be multiplied to save so many others?” he asked. “Shouldn’t the media continue to help the world participate in the commitment to life?”