Haiti mourned more than 250 thousand victims of its devastating 2010 earthquake yesterday
in a somber, poignant one-year anniversary.
Haiti's government called for
a minute of silence to remember the victims of what some experts have called the worst
urban disaster of modern times.
Pope Benedict XVI sent a message to the people
of Haiti with his special envoy to the country, the president of the Pontifical Council
cor unum, Cardinal Robert Sarah.
In his message, the Pope promises his
continued spiritual closeness to all those affected, and encourages the people of
Haiti to remain strong in the face of continuing difficulties.
Meanwhile,
Here
in Rome, Mass was celebrated at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major to mark the anniversary
presided over by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.
Cardinal
Bernard Francis Law also participated in the mass and afterwards spoke to us about
the poignancy of the event saying, “ the destruction in terms of personal loss and
in terms of infrastructure in that nation is impossible to comprehend, in one moment,
in the moment a year ago, to the moment we were in the midst of celebrating mass just
now.”
The Cardinal added that the message for us all is one of consolation
for the love of God revealed in Christ Jesus. Listen