VATICAN CORNER
On Tuesday morning Oct. 4, 2016, on the feast day of St. Francis, Pope Francis made a surprise visit to those people affected by the recent earthquake in central Italy. He even caught local officials by surprise. He told the residents of Amatrice “I thought long and hard in the first days of these many pains, that my visit, perhaps, would be more of a hindrance than a help. I didn’t want to be a bother so I let a little time pass, so that some things could be resolved, like the school. A new 12- room temporary school structure was constructed in record time so that the area’s elementary and middle school children would not lose a school year. He told the residents that “I needed to come to you, simply to express my closeness to you, nothing more.” He prayed with the residents, telling them to “move forward together for there is always a future.” He met with the surviving elementary and middle-school aged children of Amatrice, and they gave him some of their handmade drawings. He hugged each one and listened to their stories of the earthquake. In that town of 297, 231 had died. Francis stood in silent prayer in the main street which remained piled high with rubble and discarded household items. He blessed everyone and prayed to Our Lady for the many loved ones who perished under the rubble. He told the people to have courage and help each other. “One walks better together, alone we go nowhere. Six weeks after the quake, most of the 4,800 people of the area, whose homes were damaged or destroyed, and who had been living in temporary camp housing, have been moved to less temporary lodgings. But there are some that don’t know where they will go. Reconstruction efforts are under discussion. Pope Francis visited 60 elderly people living in an assisted living facility, he visited the Fire Station base camp, prayed in front of the two different destroyed churches, and greeted and briefly addressed several groups of 100 people in several towns in the area. He assured them that he was close to them during “this time of sadness” and was praying for them to have the strength to go forward. The earthquake measured 6.2 and hit just 6 miles beneath the surface of the earth, a shallow depth that multiplied its destructive force, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The Apennine mountain belt which runs down the spine of Italy is gradually being stretched in a northeast-southwest direction by tectonic forces at a rate of around 0.12 inches per year. The slow stretching causes stress to build up, which then releases as earthquakes. The tragedy reveals the fragility of Italy’s infrastructure, with both modern and ancient buildings destroyed by the quake, including hospitals and a college dormitory.
Sources: news.va, nytimes.com, mirror.co.uk