Dramatic Photo of Nun who Survived Italy Earthquake Goes Viral

Dramatic Photo of Nun who Survived Italy Earthquake Goes Viral

Dramatic Photo of Nun who Survived Italy Earthquake Goes Viral
Video screenshot
Photo captured a wounded nun after Italy was rocked by a 6.2-magnitude earthquake.

Sister Marjana Lleshi, 35, a nun who survived the catastrophic earthquake that devastated central Italy has now become the picture of the tragedy. The photograph shows her in her gray habit with a bloodied veil and forehead, sitting by the road.

The disaster has rocked Italy, having claimed more than 250 lives so far. Sister Lleshi's survival has been called a “miracle,” even as she says she is yet to determine what God's plan for her might be to have saved her while letting the others die.

Dramatic Photo of Nun who Survived Italy Earthquake Goes Viral[/tweetthis]

Sister Lleshi recounts that when she woke up, the tremors had already begun. Rubble was falling from the ceiling and the crumbling building had left her with a gash on the forehead. She turned to the people on the streets crying for help, but she says that they were confused and afraid they failed to hear her calls. Before the building completely came down, she had just enough time to grab her veil and a sweater and crawled under her bed where she stayed throughout the ordeal. Though initially she was hopeful, she says that as time passed, her hopes began to desert her, although her will to live was still high. She also said that she began sending “goodbye” messages to all her near and dear ones and to her fellow sisters as she was convinced she wouldn't survive.

But then something wonderful happened.

The Albanian nun says that while she was contemplating on her life and decisions in preparation for death, she heard the voice of a young man who took care of one of the aged persons in their convent-run old age home. Calling this voice as “angelic,” Sister Lleshi says that this was an affirmation of God's gift of life in times of darkness.

Sister Lleshi was then pulled out and taken to the side of the road where she sat, texting her friends that she had survived. It is at this moment that the iconic photo was clicked.

The city of Amatrice, is where the nun's Don Minozzi convent belonging to the Handmaidens of the Lord is located and is one of the worst affected places. The convent was also a home for the aged and housed six other sisters and five aged residents. Of this, three sisters and four elderly persons have been declared dead. Two sisters were found buried in the rubble and are currently under medical treatment.

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