Originally published at National Catholic Register
When Peter and Jackie Halpin and their six adult children and some of their spouses showed up at the site of the family home in northern Los Angeles County on Thursday morning, there was almost nothing left.
One of the California wildfires had destroyed it, leaving only the foundation, debris, and singed concrete statues of Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Joseph.
They said a prayer near the statue of Mary — a version of the daily consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Then someone said they should sing something. But what?
Peter ended the discussion with an intonation, setting pitch with four notes going up the scale — “La – la – la – laaaaa.” Everyone in the family knows what that means: “Regina Caeli,” a 12th century Latin hymn to Mary that Peter’s mother taught all nine of her children.
The Halpin parents, their six children, and at least four spouses — about a dozen people in all — immediately sang it in harmony.
A family friend shot video of the performance. Someone posted it online, where it has caught the attention of thousands of people.
Andrew Halpin, 36, the fourth of Peter and Jackie’s six children
