Italian children from earthquake-ravaged region meet with Pope

June 05, 2017

Approximately 400 children who lived through recent earthquakes in central Italy met with Pope Francis in Paul VI Audience Hall on June 3.

The children were brought to Rome on a train trip arranged by the Pontifical Council of Culture under the auspices of Courtyard of the Gentiles, its outreach to nonbelievers. The theme of the trip was “little travelers, great ambassadors, guardians of the earth.”

After asking the children about the effects of the earthquakes on their lives, the Pope said:

What you have lived is a bad thing, because it is a calamity. Is it true or not? It is a calamity. And calamities injure the soul. But the Lord will help you recover. Do you trust in the Lord, or not? … And also in Our Lady? … And now, if we have confidence, let us thank Our Lady for the good things that she gave us in this calamity: Hail Mary…

 

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Further information:

• Words of the Holy Father to children participating in the “Children’s Train” initiative organized by the Pontifical Council for Culture, 03.06.2017 (Holy See Press Office)
• Children from earthquake-stricken central Italy visit Pope (Vatican Radio)