Around 45 churchgoers in Texas are grateful to be alive after a deadly tornado destroyed most of the St John the Evangelist Catholic Church as they gathered to honour high school graduates on Saturday night, CNN reported.
'The tornado was a direct hit,' according to Peyton Low, a director of public affairs for the Diocese of Tyler. 'Both ends of the building were blown out,' Low told CNN.
Parishioners received a warning to take cover as the storm approached in Emory, and they decided to gather in a hallway between the parish hall and the church's main area, according to the TV news channel.
The Diocese of Tyler said in a Facebook post that the worshippers were all in the hallway when the tornado hit.
'By the grace of God and the protection of Our Lady, no one was injured,' the post said.
Footage showed several walls in the building completely blown out.
The incident came on the same day that some four tornadoes hit in east Texas, killing at least four people, according to NBC News.
'The damage was extensive,' said Lou Ann Everett, the Mayor of Canton. 'It is heartbreaking.'
Texas Governor Greg Abbott added that some homes were 'nothing more than rubble' after the storms, according to NBC.
At the church, Low told CNN that 'people are using the term "miraculous"' to describe what happened'.
The morning after the tornado touched down, parishioners held Sunday Mass outside the church and worshippers 'gave thanks that the people inside survived,' Low said.
