From a Tablet story by Scott Bryan (April 8, 2000)

On the morning of February 4, 2000, Deacon Humberto Alvia of Blessed Sacrament, Cypress Hills, was talking on a two-way radio directing a crane operator who was hoisting a bucket of cement to the fourth floor. "I only remember hearing a loud boom. I thank God that I am alive," Alvia said after the incident.

A cable had snapped sending the bucket, which holds between 15 and 20 wheelbarrows of wet cement, reeling downward. Alvia was hit by flying debris and covered in cement. "It was a scary moment," said John Castillo, a fellow construction worker and parishioner at St. Pius X, Jamaica. "When I put my fingers on his neck, there was no pulse."

Alvia suffered a broken nose and a concussion. He says, "I thank God I am alive … I think He has something for me." Castillo says, "It’s got to be a miracle that he is alive. I think God wants him here."

As a deacon, Alvia reaches out and tries to help teenagers who have no direction in life. "There are too many kids on the street who are lost," he explained, "I like working with youth. It’s a big challenge."

Alvia and his wife are also active in the Pre-Cana program, where they counsel couples who are planning to marry. With three children of his own, he said marriage and family are significant.

Father Thomas Brosnan, pastor of Blessed Sacrament said, "Humberto and his family are dedicated parishioners. It’s his dedication that makes him a good deacon."

Alvia, who has been a deacon for three years, admits what everyone has surmised – yes, he should have died that morning, but God wanted him alive.

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