A priest and nun were among those rescued after a massive earthquake struck central Italy last week.
Fr Krzysztof Kozlowski, from Poland, was trapped in his destroyed home in Accumoli on Wednesday before finally being pulled out several hours later. His neighbours were all killed.
“Even as I was waiting for help, for someone to bring me out of the apartment, I could feel the tremors. I was afraid they could destroy whatever was left of my house.”
His rescue, he said, was a “great miracle”. “I was miraculously saved, rescued by a rescue team. I was born anew,” Fr Kozlowski said.
An Albanian nun, 32-year-old Sister Marjana Lleshi, also feared she would die after her convent collapsed.
When she woke up covered in dust and bleeding, she cried for help but no one responded. She told Associated Press (AP): “I started sending messages to friends saying to pray for me and to pray for my soul and I said goodbye to them forever.”
She was rescued by a young man who worked at the care home for the elderly which her convent ran. Sister Marjana, a member of the Sisters of the Handmaidens of the Lord, told AP: “I had said ‘adieu’, and in the end it wasn’t an adieu.”
Just hours after the earthquake struck, Pope Francis led 11,000 people in praying the rosary in St Peter’s Square.
During the prayer service, which replaced the weekly general audience, six Vatican firefighters were already on their way to the town of Amatrice, about 85 miles east of Rome, to help search for victims under the rubble. The Pope said: “Having heard the mayor of Amatrice say, ‘the town no longer exists’ and knowing that there are children among the dead, I am deeply saddened.”
Damascus patriarchs call for an end to sanctions on Syria
Patriarchs in Damascus have urged the international community to “stop the siege of the Syrian people” and to lift international sanctions.
The three Christian leaders – Melkite Catholic Patriarch Gregoire III Laham, Syriac Orthodox Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II and Greek Orthodox Patriarch John X – directed their appeal to “the international conscience and the concerned countries”.
Although “the main goals of imposing these sanctions are political”, the patriarchs said, they had affected all Syrian people, “especially the poor and working class, whose ability to provide their basic daily needs such as food and medical care are greatly affected”.
They continued: “Despite the resolution of the Syrian people in the face of the crisis, the social situation is getting worse and the poverty and suffering of the Syrian people are constantly increasing.”
The patriarchs criticised Western countries for closing their embassies and said a ban on international banking transactions with Syria “puts the people in a financial difficulty”. Lifting sanctions would enable church and other groups to provide aid, they said.
Homeless enjoy cathedral feast
Nearly 250 homeless Chileans enjoyed a dinner in Santiago’s cathedral last week to celebrate the Year of Mercy.
Jorge Alfaro said: “It really means something for me to know that people care about us and want to help us and invite us in. Finally, we feel like we are valued.”
The menu included soup, Chile’s famous empanadas, roast chicken, rice and creamed vegetables.
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