Pope gifts residential complex to Guatemala

Guatemala, 18 March 2014: Cardinal Robert Sarah, the President of the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum" , is visiting Guatemala from 18 to 21 March, to usher in a residential complex of nineteen houses and a chapel, thanks to a gift of Pope Francis, after the natural disasters that have hit the country in 2011. A communique from the Vatican stated that it carries a sign of real spiritual closeness to the people who are now in the reconstruction phase.

Cardinal Sarah will meet with representatives of the Archdiocesan Caritas and Caritas Guatemala on March 19. In the afternoon of the same day he will visit the Villa de los Niños, a boarding school for poor young people who have a scholarship and receive a comprehensive training up to 18 years of age.

Cardinal Sarah will attend on March 20, the inauguration of nineteen houses built in the town of Cuilapa, part of the Diocese of Santa Rosa de Lima. The work, which also included the building of a chapel within the same housing complex, was made possible thanks to a gift of the Holy Father, and realized together with the local Church and with the coordination of the Nunciature in Guatemala who handled stages of the implementation of the project.

Throughout Central America, including Guatemala, is often hit by natural disasters which threaten the socio-economic stability, affecting in particular the population living in poverty. Between August and October 2011, floods from heavy torrential rains, landslides and earthquakes, in Guatemala have caused extensive damage to the area and people, especially in the municipality of Cuilapa, Chiquimulilla, Taxisco and Guazacapen, forcing thousands of families to flee their homes.

Source: VR Sedoc