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Nuns Frightened When High Winds Tear Roof Off Of Convent In Gloucester County

By Pat Ciarrocchi

GIBBSTOWN, NJ (CBS) -- Some days, you just thank your lucky stars that you have a guardian angel.

Sister Jerilyn knows a thing or two about angels.

"You pray when you see the clouds coming and you say, 'Lord don't let it happen.' You pray when it's here and say 'Lord, let's get it over fast.'"

Sister Jerilyn and Sister Angela had just returned to St. Michael's Convent from a retreat in North Jersey. They were making a little dinner when the heavens opened up and the winds began to swirl.

"And then we heard a loud bang. My first impression was that it was the doors upstairs all closed at the same time. Sister Angela said, 'I don't think so. I think it might be the roof.' I was like, 'oh no!'"

Jonathan Wisham is the facilities manager for St. Clare of Assisi parish. He was in the convent parking lot when the skies became ominous.

"I looked up, I heard a big crash. The roof came 10 to 15 feet off its foundation and then it slammed down, and when it slammed down, it slammed down crooked and the front of it sheared off."

Jonathan got the sisters out and they found shelter in Guardian Angel School, where Sister Jerilyn is principal.

"It was like something came straight through and knocked everything down."

Except a grateful spirit that no one was hurt, even amid the evidence of wild weather.

Bricks, trees, limbs were scattered everywhere, and ultimately there will be an assessment to see how much it will cost to rebuild.

The sisters tell Eyewitness News tonight they believe there was a guardian angel watching over them.

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