Pope to visit Italy’s quake region on April 28

(April 18, 2009) Pope Benedict XVI will pay visit to Italy's quake-stricken towns and stop in a tent city housing survivors in a brief visit on April 28. The Vatican said on Saturday the three-hour visit would include time at a tent city on the outskirts of Onna, a hamlet that was completely levelled by the powerful April 6 earthquake. The quake claimed 295 lives, drove some 50,000 people from their homes, and toppled or heavily damaged thousands of buildings, including churches, schools and other public buildings in the Abruzzo region. In Onna, on the outskirts of L'Aquila, about 40 of the 300 residents perished. Pope Benedict will also go to the site of a collapsed university dormitory in L'Aquila, where seven students were killed, and to the Basilica of Collemaggio, the town's best known church which suffered heavy damage. He will visit a military barracks on L'Aquila's outskirts where he will hold talks with representatives of people and rescue workers. Travelling by helicopter, the Holy Father will have an aerial view of the devastation caused by the 6.3-magnitude quake. Immediately after the quake, the Pope expressed solidarity with survivors, prayed for the victims and promised he would go to visit them personally.