Pope’s April 28^th visit to Italy’s quake-hit Abruzzo region

(April 27, 2009) Pope Benedict XVI will visit the devastated city of L'Aquila on Tuesday and pray at the ruins of a student dormitory that has become a symbol of Italy's worst earthquake in three decades. The three-hour visit will 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. 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. No papal Mass is scheduled for the April 28 visit. Immediately after the quake, the Pope expressed solidarity with survivors, prayed for the victims and promised he would go to visit them personally.