Reflections of the San Juan Shrine Plane Crash: Our Lady of San Juan Del Valle statue untouched by devastating 1970 fire
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Channel 5 News is looking back on the 55th anniversary of a devastating plane crash that destroyed the shrine of Our Lady of San Juan Del Valle.
The crash happened on Oct. 23, 1970 when a man intentionally crashed a small plane into that shrine.
The grounds of that shrine would later become the Basilica that we have today.
RELATED STORY: Reflections of the San Juan Shrine Plane Crash: Channel 5 News looks back at historical tragedy
One of the Basilica’s main pieces is the three-foot tall statue of Our Lady of San Juan Del Valle.
The statue first came to the area in 1948, and for decades it sat in the shrine for pilgrims to worship.
On the day of the crash, priests were inside at the time holding mass.
Priests risked their lives and ran through the burning building to save the statue and the blessed sacrament.
When they pulled her out of the fire, the statue was untouched by the ash and fires.
Word would spread around the community, and not long after, around the country about the statue's survival.
The Our Lady of San Juan Del Valle statue would become a center point for pilgrims from all over the world to come and ask for her intercession.
This week, Channel 5 News is taking a look at the 55th anniversary of the plane crash as part of our special report, Reflections of the San Juan Shrine Plane Crash.
Tune in to Channel 5 News at 10 p.m. for the full coverage. Click here to catch it live.
Watch the video above for the full story.
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