Pope to faithful: Pray for dear Philippines

[hubag bohol]

By Evelyn Macairan (The Philippine Star) | Updated October 22, 2013 - 12:00am



Pope Francis expressed his closeness to the people of the Philippines during his Angelus prayer at the Vatican last Sunday, when he asked the world to pray for the earthquake victims. AP


MANILA, Philippines - Pope Francis has appealed to the world to pray for the victims of the magnitude 7.2 earthquake that rocked Central Visayas last week and claimed the lives of at least 186 people.

CBCPNews, the official news service provider of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, reported that the pope made the appeal after the Angelus last Sunday.

[hubag bohol]

“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.

Prior to the earthquake, typhoons also flooded several provinces in Luzon.

Last Friday, the pontiff called on Filipinos and other 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.

[Lorenzo]

Thank You for the prayer,  Holy Father Francis...