Pope Leo XIV said Sunday he continues to pray for Venezuela following two powerful earthquakes that struck the north of the country on June 24, just 39 seconds apart. The death toll from the disaster has risen to 2,954 confirmed dead. After reciting the Angelus from the balcony of his private study in the Apostolic Palace, the Pope greeted the Choir of the University of Mérida, Venezuela.
The Pope then addressed the congregation in Spanish: “I always remember in my prayers the victims of the earthquake and all the Venezuelan people: may the Lord sustain them in this difficult time.”The number of people still trapped under the rubble remains uncertain. International rescue teams have begun shifting their focus from search operations to recovery efforts and structural assessments of damaged buildings.The economic toll is also severe. A United Nations report estimates direct physical damage at $37 billion — nearly triple initial assessments made after the disaster.
The World Health Organization has warned of the risk of disease outbreaks in makeshift camps housing thousands of displaced people.New Vietnamese blessed rememberedThe Pope also recalled the beatification last Thursday, July 2, of Father Francis Xavier Trương Bửu Diệp at the Shrine of Tắc Sậy in Vietnam. Father Diệp was murdered in 1946 out of hatred for the faith.Born on January 1, 1897, in Vietnam’s An Giang province, he was ordained a priest in 1924. In March 1946, in Bạc Liêu, he refused to flee to save his life, saying: “My life and my death are for my flock. The shepherd must be where the flock is.”Referring to his witness, Pope Leo XIV said: “In a context of abuse and violence, he became a defender of people’s rights and did not abandon his parishioners.
May his intercession and prayer sustain the workers of the Gospel who even today find themselves in situations of persecution.”The Pope also greeted several groups of Polish pilgrims, including newly ordained priests from the Capuchin Friars Minor of the Krakow Province, the children’s choir from the Archdiocese of Łódź with their auxiliary bishop, and a delegation from the Polish diocese of Legnica.