Worshippers in RI celebrate Easter just days after record flooding ravaged much of the state

Days after flooding, RI worshippers observe Easter

COVENTRY, R.I. — Worshippers in flood-ravaged Rhode Island are gathering at churches around the state for Easter services.

Pastors are citing the flooding of the past week in their sermons. Three days of rain caused the worst flooding in the state in at least 200 years.

At St. Vincent De Paul Church in Coventry, Father Michael Kelley praised his congregation for helping people who were displaced by the floods and for offering other aid to the victims.

And at St. Paul Church in Cranston Father Francis Santilli said that although “water has not been a pleasant topic this week it is through water that sins are washed away.”

Rhode Island is the nation’s most heavily Catholic state.