Akita Shrine at the epicenter

The news pouring out of Japan in the aftermath of back-to-back disasters and ongoing crises like the explosion at the nuclear plant on Saturday can’t cover it all, and we can’t even estimate if it covers the half of it.

But one story covered just about nowhere except in the Catholic news media is about what happened at the convent in Akita, both historically and immediately.

The epicenter of the earthquake that caused a deadly March 11 tsunami is located near the site of an apparition in which Mary warned about a worldwide disaster that could afflict humanity.

Japanese church officials have confirmed that the Diocese of Sendai, in the north of the country, was hit hardest by the 8.8 magnitude earthquake – the worst in Japanese history – and the resulting 23-foot waves.

Hundreds of people have already been confirmed dead in the city of Sendai, located less than 90 miles away from the apparition site of Our Lady of Akita in the town of Yuzawa.

The city of Akita, which experienced fire damage and flooding along with many parts of northern Japan, is a place of veneration for Catholics.

Evidently, it was spared the worst of the damage.