VATICAN CITY – After leading thousands of pilgrims in praying the Angelus, Pope Francis offered prayers for flood victims in Texas and Louisiana following a devastating hurricane that caused massive flooding.

HOUSTON - As the waters from Hurricane Harvey rose and fell, prayers uttered in Texas ranged from pleas for protection to asking God for the courage to live with charity and great patience, said Bishop Brendan J. Cahill of Victoria.

HOUSTON – The 200-home community of McDade Estates down the road from Sacred Heart Parish had just hours to evacuate Aug. 27. City officials knocked door-to-door, alerting residents to escape to higher ground.

HOUSTON – With floodwater as high as 20 feet from swelling bayous and waterways, thousands of homes in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston flooded as Tropical Storm Harvey continued to batter southeast Texas Aug. 28.

WASHINGTON – Catholic dioceses and charities are quickly organizing to help in the aftermath of a Category 4 hurricane that made landfall with heavy rains and winds of 130 miles per hour late Aug. 25 into the Rockport, Texas area, northeast of Corpus Christi. The National Weather Service said in a tweet Aug. 27 that the rainfall expected after the hurricane and storm are over "are beyond anything experienced before."

HOUSTON – Hurricane Harvey's pending landfall is bringing up memories of the last major storm that aimed for the Texas Gulf Coast.