but what he had asked is that he wants prayers from people from Quebec."

Pablos was appointed earlier this year by Gov. Greg Abbott, a staunch Republican with a large base among Christian conservatives.

The office of Texas Secretary of State Rolando Pablos, right, said it never declined aid from Quebec. (Eric Gay/Associated Press)

Controversy emerges

The Quebec minister's comments went largely unreported outside the province at first, but began to circulate later in the week when American news outlets gave them a political slant.

"'Send prayers': Texas Republican turns down donated blankets, beds, manpower from Canada," reads one headline from the self-described progressive site Raw Story.

The "Friendly Atheist" section of the religious affairs site Patheos ran a story billed: "Quebec Offered Texas Aid, But the Sec. of State Said They Just NeededPrayers."

​The lead of a Salon story reads, "May God help Texas, because Canada sure won't."

As those stories made the rounds of the internet, Pablos' office began receiving calls from across the U.S. and Canada.

"[They were] telling us they were ashamed that we were declining aid from Canada," said Sam Taylor, Pablos' press secretary. "That wasn't the case at all."

Christine St-Pierre, Quebec's minister of International Relations, spoke with her Texan counterpart again Friday after the controversy erupted. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press)

Clearing up the confusion

Pablos did indeed ask for Quebecers' prayers, Taylor said, but he also informed St-Pierre that his office isn't responsible for determining disaster response needs. She was directed instead to the Department of Public Safety.

On Wednesday, the two governments had a follow-up conversation to further coordinate relief