“CAVE EXPLORERS”
by Sharon Rondeau
(Jul. 8, 2018) — An astute Twitter user following the rescue of the Thai soccer team members under the hashtag #ThaiCaveRescue tweeted late Sunday afternoon an image of St. Benedict of Nursia, who she said is considered the patron saint of “cave explorers.”
According to Catholic.org, the claim is accurate.
The rescue of the 12 boys, aged 11-17, and their 25-year-old coach, began on Sunday, July 8, resulting in the successful removal from the Tham Luang Nang Non cave complex. At that time, it was reported that a four-day period was expected during which all 13 would be rescued.
St. Benedict’s feast day is July 11.
The Encyclopedia Britannica states that early in his monastic life, Benedict “retired as a young man to Enfide (modern Affile) in the Simbruinian hills and later to a cave in the rocks beside the lake then existing near the ruins of Nero’s palace above Subiaco, 40 miles (64 km) east of Rome in the foothills of the Abruzzi. There he lived alone for three years, furnished with food and monastic garb by Romanus, a monk of one of the numerous monasteries nearby.”
His biographer, St. Gregory the Great, wrote that Benedict was capable of “making water flow from rocks” and of “sending a disciple to walk on the water.”
According to Fox News on Sunday, “The boys and their coach became stranded when they went exploring in the cave after a practice game June 23. Monsoon flooding cut off their escape and prevented rescuers from finding them for almost 10 days.”
The boys and experts divers must perform a combination of swimming, climbing, walking and creeping through a series of narrow tunnels and staging areas to reach land, safety and medical care. The rescue mission is considered highly dangerous, and a former Thai Navy SEAL lost his life on Friday when he ran out of oxygen in the murky waters during preparations for the undertaking.
After the four boys were retrieved from the depths of the cave, rescue operations were halted temporarily for divers to rest overnight and are expected to resume within a day.