After the Angelus, the Pope invited people to pray for the dead, who numbered 202, in the tragic floods that devastated Spain on October 29, for their loved ones and for the affected families. “May the Lord,” he adds, “support those who suffer and those who bring relief.” The Archbishop of Valencia Benavent recounts the phone call he received from the Pope.
Alessandro Di Bussolo – Vatican City
Pope Francis’ thoughts return to the tragic situation of the “people of Valencia” and those in the Iberian Peninsula who were “overwhelmed by the storm “Dana”” on October 29. The Pope, after the Angelus of the Solemnity of All Saints, remembers the floods of these days in various parts of the world, which he describes as “environmental catastrophes” and invites us to pray for the drama that has hit Spain:
For the deceased and their loved ones, and for all the affected families. May the Lord sustain those who suffer and those who bring help. Our proximity to the Valencian people.
Yesterday, in a video message addressed to Monsignor Luis Javier Argüello García, metropolitan archbishop of Valladolid and president of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, the Pontiff had expressed “closeness” and “prayers” for the entire population of Valencia “at this time of catastrophe.” .
The Pope’s call to the Archbishop of Valencia
And the archbishop of Valencia, Monsignor Enrique Benavent, tells Agenzia Sir that Pope Francis called him “to inquire about the situation we are experiencing.” “I told him – he explains – some details that we have learned and the Pope told me that the more he sees the news and the images, the more impressed he is.” The Archbishop of Valencia emphasizes that the Pontiff “asked me to express his closeness to everyone, especially to the victims, to their families, to those who suffer as much pain as we do.” Monsignor Benavent goes on to say that he has informed the Pontiff that “we will meet in prayer in the Basilica of the Virgin, which he already visited as archbishop of Buenos Aires on the occasion of the World Meeting of Families, and he remembered her, and assured me that spiritually “It is united to our prayer.”
The balance continues to worsen: 202 victims
Meanwhile, while people continue digging in the mud and bringing food and water to the survivors who were left with nothing, the death toll, shortly after one in the afternoon, rose to 202. And on the streets of Picanya, one of the centers most affected by the floods, dozens of emigrants started cooking for the local population, for those who no longer have a home. Among rubble, mud and cars destroyed by the flood, improvised barbecues have been set up and typical dishes from kitchens around the world are prepared. Migrants, also displaced, who lived in a hotel flooded by the flood, and come from different countries, such as Afghanistan, Syria, Georgia and Venezuela.
Belgium
