JOHN PAUL II REMEMBERS VICTIMS OF EARTHQUAKE

VATICAN CITY, NOV 1, 2002 (VIS) - Today, the Solemnity of All Saints, the Pope appeared at the window of his study which faces St. Peter's Square to pray the Angelus with the faithful present. In the afternoon, he prayed in the Vatican Grottos for the deceased.

"Today, according to the Liturgy," the Holy Father affirmed, "the Church has 'the joy of celebrating on a unique feast day the merits and glory of the saints': not only those whom it has proclaimed throughout the centuries, but also those innumerable men and women whose sanctity, hidden in this world, is well-known by God and shines in his eternal Kingdom."

John Paul II affirmed that this feast day "invites us to turn our gaze toward Heaven, the goal of our earthly pilgrimage. There the festive community of the saints awaits us. There we will be reunited with deceased loved ones, for whom we will raise our prayer in the great liturgical commemoration tomorrow."

"November 2, however, requires us not to forget but rather to favor in prayer the souls of so many deceased that nobody remembers. ... I pray especially for the victims of terrorism, which in the past months and also in these days has continued to plague humanity. The commemoration of All Souls must be a unanimous invocation of peace: peace for those who lived, peace for those who are living, peace for those who will live."

After praying the Angelus, the Holy Father referred to the earthquakes in Sicily and in other areas of central and southern Italy "which have caused serious suffering and problems for those beloved populations."

The Pope expressed his "deep spiritual closeness to those affected by these tragic events, especially the children caught in the collapse of a school building in San Giuliano di Puglia. While I elevate to the Lord my prayer for the victims and their families, I send an affectionate word of encouragement to those who have survived and to all those who are working in the rescue efforts, hoping that they may be sustained by the solidarity of the entire nation."

As is his annual custom, John Paul II went down to the Vatican Grottos to pray for the Supreme Pontiffs and for all the deceased. "In these Vatican grottos," said the Pope, "we entrust to the mercy of the Father the victims of the earthquake which has affected Southern Italy, and in particular the many children, who have lost their lives, and their parents and their families. Also we pray for those who are buried here and await the resurrection of the flesh; we pray in particular for those Supreme Pontiffs, who developed the service of pastors of the Universal Church, so that they may participate in the eternal liturgy in Heaven."

Through Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Pope sent telegrams of condolences for the victims of the earthquake that struck the Molise region of Italy to Bishop Tommaso Valentinetti of Termoli-Larino and Archbishop Armando Dini of Campobasso-Boiano.

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