RJ and Annie Harber were devastated as they walked away after identifying the bodies of their two young daughters, 13-year-old Blair and 11-year-old Brooke. Then, a guiding hand led them back.
It belonged to Fr. Rafael Duda, parochial vicar at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in San Antonio. Together with Fr. Duda, the Harbers prayed the same prayers that they had once recited each night with their girls.
“He turned a horrible situation into a less horrible situation,” RJ said, “because the girls were surrounded by prayer and faith.”
Since the loss of Blair and Brooke in the July 2025 Hill Country flooding, their parents have continued to find comfort and direction in their faith. And the Catholic community has found inspiration by walking with the Harbers on their journey.
“We have Saints in heaven that are St. Rita’s own Saints,” said Fr. Joshua Whitfield, pastor of St. Rita Catholic Community. “Brooke and Blair are two of them.”
Blair and Brooke, both students at St. Rita Catholic School, remained strong in their faith throughout their lives. They volunteered as altar servers at St. Rita Catholic Community. Blair prayed the rosary every night, and the family went to Mass each week.
The night of the flood, the girls took their rosaries with them to the loft of the cabin they shared with their grandparents, Mike and Charlene, who also were killed in the disaster.
“When this happened, my faith wasn’t shaken. I just submitted myself to God. That’s not to say we haven’t been angry with God, or questioned why,” RJ said. “It’s hard to wrap our heads around why God would take such beautiful, faithful girls away.”
The family has found comfort in testimonies of those inspired by the girls’ example of lived faith — people who have started going to confession again, received communion, or even converted to Catholicism.
They’ve also drawn strength from the support of Fr. Duda, who came to Dallas for the girls’ funeral and spent Thanksgiving with the Harbers. For the holiday, RJ had always made Blair’s favorite, ribs. She would skip the turkey and dressing and eat half a rack.
Last year, RJ prepared the dish to share with Fr. Duda.
Annie and RJ had always celebrated Christmas at Mike and Charlene’s house, but in 2025 they spent the holiday with Fr. Duda and friends in his native Poland. Fr. Duda continues to text the Harbers daily, visit them, and speak with them frequently.
“Nothing is going to ease the pain,” RJ said. “But when someone gives you their time and their presence and grounds you in faith, it helps just a little bit.”
Fr. Duda said that the Harbers give him too much credit — they’ve taught him lessons in perspective, humility, and perseverance.
“I’m just thankful for our friendship,” he said, “for the trust they have in me.”
Fr. Whitfield called Annie and RJ’s strength “nothing short of miraculous.”
“RJ and Annie are just heroic and holy in how they’ve carried on,” he said. “The grace that comes through the suffering takes your breath away when you think about it.”
St. Rita’s planned ways to remember Blair and Brooke throughout the last school year. But some of the most beautiful tributes were spontaneous, such as the two sixth graders who lit a candle and said a prayer each day for the Harber sisters.
“This community is more loving than we were,” Fr. Whitfield said. “What to make of that, I do not know. I’m grateful for that love.”
Annie and RJ have been to about 70 Masses since losing the girls, RJ said. They still cry at every one. But each has also brought them closer to their daughters.
“We say the Lord’s Prayer, and at the end of it every time, Brooke would take Annie and my arm and just raise it as high as her arm could go,” he said. “We feel our girls with us in that prayer every single Mass and also in communion. The veil between heaven and this world is right there, and you can feel them there at the altar.”
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