Pope’s April 28th 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.