Pope Francis made a surprise visit to the site of a devastating earthquake in central Italy last week and prayed silently and alone amid the rubble.
The Pope later told the people of Amatrice, the hardest hit town, that he had wanted to visit sooner, but felt that visiting on August 24 earthquake would have complicated relief efforts and “would have been more of a hindrance than a help”.
With a megaphone he told the crowd: “From the first moment, I felt that I needed to come to you. Simply to express my closeness to you, nothing more. And I pray; I pray for you!”
