Rose S. Eugene prays as she joins other parishioners at the Notre Dame d'Haiti Mission, Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2011 in Miami. Haitian-Americans were marking the one-year anniversary of the magnitude 7.0 earthquake on Jan. 12, 2010, that killed more than 230,000 in Haiti. Roughly a million remain homeless amid the debris and stuttering reconstruction efforts in Port-au-Prince. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Haiti– Pope Benedict XVI wrote the following message to mark today’s first anniversary of the devastating earthquake in Haiti. The message was read out by Cardinal Robert Sarah, president of the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum”, during a commemorative Mass held in Haiti today.
“In order to mark the first anniversary of the terrible earthquake which struck your country, I join you all, dear Haitians, to assure you of my prayers, particularly for the dead”, the Pope writes.
“I also wish to pronounce a word of hope in the current particularly difficult circumstances. The time has come to rebuild, not only material structures but, and above all, civil, social and religious coexistence. I hope that the Haitian people will become the main actors in their own present and future, also with the support of international aid which has already demonstrated great generosity with economic support and volunteers coming from all parts of the world.
