Historical Storyline
Watch The TrailerThe Miracle of the Pacocha is released! Please allow 1-3 weeks for delivery.
Historical Story Line
Note: We are still filling out the dates for this timeline. However, the sequence of events is accurate.18?? Peru acquires an Ironclad Monitor (Huascar)
1877 The Battle Of Pacocha Occurs. The Huascar fights the HMS Shah and Amethyst to a standoff.
1878? Admiral Miguel Grau assumes command of the Huascar and leads his navy in the war between Chile and the Peru/Bolivia alliance.
1879 Admiral Grau sinks the Chilean Frigate Esmeralda and returns Captain Pratt's belongings to his widow, along with a letter of condolence. For this act, Carmen Pratt names Grau the "Gentleman Of The Sea".
1879 Grau dies in the battle of Angamos, where the Huascar is surrounded and pounded by six Chilean ships. The Chileans would salvage the Huascar and you can take tours on that ship to this day in Chile.
1892 A Croatian girl named Marija Petkovic' is born on the island of Korchula. This is the same island that famed explorer Marco Polo is from. Marija has a heart of gold and invests her entire being in helping the poor. Not surprisingly, she then decides to become a nun.
1920 Marija founds an order of franciscan nuns known as "The Congregation Of The Daughters Of Mercy".
1920-1963 Marija founds orphanages and charitable centers across Korchula and would later go to South America.
1941 World War II breaks out.
1943 USS Atule is milled in Portsmouth New Hampshire.
1944 She sinks 30,000 tons of enemy shipping in the Pacific Theatre.
1945 - 1973 She is upgraded twice to Guppy-I and Guppy-II class. Here she gets better propulsion and her tall conning tower.
1963-1966 Marija Petkovic' is paralyzed, spending the last three years of her life in her room.
1966 Marija Petkovic' goes to her eternal reward. Her cause for cannonization is openned and she would eventually be found to have exhibited heroic virtue.
1974 The USS ATULE is transferred to Peru and named after the Battle Of Pacocha.
19?? Marija Petkovic' is declared Venerable by the pope. Once this approval is granted, Marija is known by the title "Servant Of God".
1988 The Pacocha is rammed by the Kyowa Maru and sinks. 3 men die on the surface, 4 in the ship, and 2 more in the buoyant escape. But of the 49 aboard, 40 of them amazingly survive. On the way to the ocean floor, an alleged miracle occurs. The world community is well informed about the maritime disaster but the miracle goes un-noticed.
1989 The Pacocha is re-floated 1 year later by Admiral Eduardo Darcourt Adrienzen. Admiral Darcourt is now the commander-in-chief of the Peruvian navy (2007).
1990 The vatican begins to study the miracle. This investigation would last approximately 12 years.
199? Because she is ruined and an extemely old unit, The Pacocha is dismantled for parts.
2002 The vatican investigators present their evidence on the happenings of August 26, 1988 and they are accepted as a miracle for the Beatification of Marija Petkovic.
2003 On June 6, 2003 in Dubrovnik, Croatia, Pope John Paul II beatifies Marija Petkovic', commending her for her "feminine genius" in the founding of orphanages and charitable centers around the world.
2003 June 6, An electrical engineer reads the ZENIT.ORG article about this beatification and is intrigued by the accompanying article entitled "Submarine Crew owes its life to Croatia's first Female Saint". The sub-title was: "Peruvian Officer Prayed and then did the Humanly Impossible".
2003 The engineer, Chris Massarotti, composes a radio commercial to advertise his inspirational website "thKid.com". However, he would encounter the USS ATULE'S website and read the US-DOD report that said that the sea-pressure naturally closed the hatch. Because he was unsure of why the Vatican and Peruvian naval investigations would declare this "humanly impossible", he tabled his radio commercial, pending more information. In the next months, he tried unsuccesfully, to contact any embassy that might help him with the Peruvian Naval report. He was also unable to locate the Vatican report. So he tabled the endeavor.
2004 In late August 2004, a South American missionary from Peru (Maria Delia Salazar) comes to Chris's parish, asking for help for the Peruvian Mission. Chris would introduce himself and find out that Maria was from Callao, the naval-base port that the Pacocha never made it to. However, Maria had not heard about the nuns or about the miracle (or the accident for that matter).
Maria helps Chris find some contacts. She locates not only the nuns, but Lieutenant Roger Cotrina.
Oct 2004 Chris decides to do a documentary.
Dec 2004 - Dec 2006 Chris travels to Peru 4 times, Croatia once, and Rome twice to film. Fernando Verano would produce the film and in December 2006, Chris would show the documentary to Bishop Salvador Piniero of the armed forces in Peru and also to the survivors of the Pacocha. Bishop Piniero gave Chris an Imprimatur for the film. The imprimatur is an official OK from the bishop's office and with full authority of his jurisdiction. The survivors would make Chris an "honorary crew-member of the BAP PACOCHA".
June 2007 The film would be presented to dignitaries of the Peruvian military and government. It was shown at the auditorium in the naval hospital that is located on the naval base in Callao. Vice President Louis Giampietri would attend and led the crowd in a standing ovation at the conclusion of the film. A wine and cheese party was held afterwards in the courtyard. Admiral Eduardo Darcourt would have many Pacocha artifacts transported to this event. Some of these were: A torpedo from the Pacocha, one of the divers' suits from the rescue, and even the hatch that Captain Daniel Nieva gave his life to close on August 26, 1988. The impressive thing about the hatch is that it is located at the naval academy in a place of honor and had to be temporarily moved to the courtyard. Chris presented many plaques to the Peruvian Navy, the sisters, several bishops, Maria Delia Salazar, and the editors and producers of the film.
Now the film is in its second revision and is currently available for purchase on this website.
We are now happy to say ....."ENJOY the SHOW!"
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