Pope prays for victims of Turkey’s earthquake

(Oct. 26, 2011) Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday prayed for the victims of Turkey’s devastating earthquake of Sunday that claimed the lives of hundreds of people and left thousands injured. The Pope made the appeal at the end of the prayer service in Vatican’s Audience Hall on Wednesday, the vigil of the peace meet to be held Thursday in the Italian hilltop town of Assisi. Pope Benedict invited everyone to unite with him in prayer for those, who had lost their lives and said he was spiritually close to all those who had been sorely tried. The Pope also prayed that God sustain all those who were engaged in rendering assistance to Turkey. Official sources in Turkey said that the 7.2 magnitude quake in Turkey’s eastern Van province killed more than 400 people, injured thousands and left numerous homeless.