What was once the church of Our Lady of Light in Dauis, Bohol is now a pile of rubble after the 7.2 magnitude quake that struck Central Visayas on Oct. 15. (Photo: Arnold Beltran Pingoy)
MANILA, Oct. 21, 2013— Pope Francis has asked the world to pray for Philippines especially for the victims of the earthquake that claimed more than a hundred lives and destroyed properties.
In his message after the Angelus Sunday evening, Manila time, the pope also disclosed his closeness to the Filipinos amid last week’s 7.2 magnitude quake that devastated several areas in Central Visayas.
“I want to express my closeness to the people of the Philippines who have been struck by a strong earthquake, and I invite you to pray for that dear nation, which in recent days has suffered different calamities,” Francis said.
Only last Friday, the pope made a call to Filipinos and Asian Catholics to have mercy for the poor and the oppressed.
“Don’t get tired of bringing the mercy of the Father to the poor, the sick, the abandoned, the young people, and the family,” he said in his video message for the Philippine Conference on New Evangelization at the University of Santo Tomas.
The pope’s appeal was made incidentally three days after the strong temblor that affected around 3.4 million individuals and killed at least 146 people in Bohol, 11 in Cebu and 1 in Siquijor.
The quake has also displaced more than 65,000 people currently staying in different evacuation centers. (CBCPNews)
