UPDATED: July 10, 2025
By Michael Gresham
The Texas Catholic
Two siblings from a St. Rita Catholic Community family were among those who died during July 4 flash floods along the Guadalupe River in Central Texas, church officials confirmed July 5.
Blair Harber, 13, a rising eighth grader, and her younger sister, Brooke, 11, a rising sixth grader, were staying in a cabin with their grandparents when the river rose rapidly overnight. Also killed was their grandfather, whose body has been located, according to Father Joshua Whitfield, pastoral administrator for St. Rita. Their grandmother is presumed dead. The girls’ parents, RJ and Annie Harber, were in a separate cabin nearby and were not injured.
As a result of the deadly flooding, more than 100 people, including 28 children, were killed, with most of the deaths occurring in Kerr County in the state’s Hill Country.
“The suddenness of the floodwaters and the loss of these two bright, beloved girls has left our community reeling,” Father Whitfield said. “We trust in God’s grace and ask for prayers for the entire Harber family.”
Annie Harber is a longtime teacher at St. Rita Catholic School, where both girls were students. The Harber family has been an integral part of the parish and school community for years, Father Whitfield said in a statement sent to the parish and school community on July 5.
“Our parish is carrying a heavy burden,” Father Whitfield said in an interview with OSV News. “At least four or five families in our parish” were affected by the deadly flooding and the tragedy at Camp Mystic, the Christian girls camp where at least 27 campers and counselors were killed. “We’ve got two boys in our school who lost their cousin, and their cousin Lila was always up here (to visit). She went to Camp Mystic for the first time. This was her first camp.”
Another parishioner, a recent graduate of St. Rita and Ursuline Academy of Dallas, was working as a counselor and had to be rescued after saving children, Father Whitfield told OSV News. A second grader from the parish was rescued from a tree at the camp.
“She was in a tree with other girls and some girls didn’t make it,” Father Whitfield said. “Her cousin was found three miles down the river, alive, miraculously, but imagine that experience for a little girl.”
He added, “We’ve got multiple families we’re having to care for, and we need to give everybody the right space and care that they need.”
A community mourns
A prayer service was held July 5 at St. Rita, where hundreds gathered to mourn. Parish clergy and school leaders offered words of faith, grief, and solidarity as family, friends, teachers, and classmates shared heartfelt hugs and sorrowful tears.
“We gather today with hearts full of sorrow, trying to make sense of something that is so very difficult to understand — the loss of these two young, beautiful souls,” Michael Wixted, president of St. Rita Catholic School, said. “Blair, excited for her eighth-grade year ahead, and Brooke, with her vivacious smile, were beloved by our community. Heartbreaking beyond words.”
Wixted added that the parish and school community may never understand why this has happened, but its members do know what they are called to do in response.
“We love. We show up like this evening. We pray like this evening. In the days ahead, we surround R.J. and Annie with compassion, and we hold each other close,” Wixted said. “This is the heart of our St. Rita community.”
Father Mark Vu Nguyen, a parish parochial vicar, acknowledged the depth of the pain shared by students and families as he opened the prayer service.
“I wish that I had the right things to say in this moment,” he said. “When we’re hurting so much, it’s often that we go back to our roots. The most important thing is our relationship with Jesus Christ. So, even though we gather in grief, we’re still a community that comes together.”
Father Arthur Unachukwu, vicar general for the Diocese of Dallas, offered the diocese’s condolences and a reminder of Christ’s nearness to the suffering.
“May their gentle souls rest in the perfect, peaceful embrace of our Heavenly Father,” Father Unachukwu said. “In moments such as these, human words are inadequate, but the Word of God, Jesus Christ, is sufficient. He will never leave you alone. He knows your heart. He knows your pain, and, even now, he will draw close to all of you and comfort you.”
Students and families were invited to gather after the service in the school Commons for support, prayer, and quiet reflection. Counselors from St. Rita and neighboring Catholic schools were available.
“Let us hold fast to our faith and live out the truth that love never fails,” Wixted said. “May Blair and Brooke rest in peace, and may angels welcome them into the heavenly kingdom.”
In Rome on July 6, Pope Leo XIV offered special prayers for those touched by the disaster.
“I would like to express sincere condolences to all the families who have lost loved ones, in particular their daughters who were in summer camp, in the disaster caused by the flooding of the Guadalupe River in Texas in the United States,” the pope said in English at the end of the Sunday noon blessing. “We pray for them.”
United in faith
In a statement released by St. Rita Catholic School on July 6, school leaders said the community continues to process the devastating events and joins in mourning the heartbreaking loss.
“In this time of deep sorrow, we stay grounded in our faith and united in love. We will stand with the Harber family in the days to come, surrounding them with our prayers, compassion, and unwavering support,” the statement read. “As a community of faith, we hold onto the hope and promise that Christ has defeated death, and that eternal life is waiting for those who love him.”
The school statement described Blair and Brooke as young women of deep faith.
“On the night they died, they went to the loft of their cabin with their rosaries. When Blair and Brooke were found the next day, 15 miles downriver, they were together,” the statement read. “Even in their last moments, they held tightly to each other, a powerful symbol of their lasting bond and their trust in God.”
Blair was an outstanding student enrolled in advanced classes and actively involved in school activities, according to the school statement. She played volleyball, basketball, and lacrosse; cheered for the St. Rita cheerleading team; and served as a student ambassador, “proudly guiding prospective families through the school.” She was also a member of the yearbook team and took part in the speech and drama program. This year, Blair was excited to audition for the lead role in the eighth-grade play, the statement read, adding that she had the kindest heart and loved to serve others.
In the school statement, Brooke was described as an excellent student who brought joy and energy wherever she went. She was an accomplished soccer, basketball, volleyball, and lacrosse player, known for her spirit and determination. She, too, loved speech and drama and had a particular gift for improv that brought smiles and laughter to those around her. Brooke never met a stranger, and she loved everyone she met, the statement read.
“May our faith, our love, and the strength of the St. Rita community be a source of comfort and healing in the days ahead,” the statement read.
Cutline for featured image: Blair, 13, and Brooke, 11, are pictured in the center in an image from the Harber family’s GoFundMe page.