Pope Francis prayed for the victims of typhoon “Ursula” that hit the Visayas on Christmas Day.
“I join in the pain that hit the dear population of the Philippines because of the typhoon Phanfone,” the Pontiff said on Dec. 26, at the end of his Angelus address, according to a Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines News post.
Typhoon Ursula (international name Phanfone) first struck the Eastern Samar province as a Category 1 hurricane Dec. 24, continuing across the islands of the Eastern Visayas region into southern Luzon and Western Visayas Dec. 25. The typhoon caused massive flooding and extensive damages in homes and other structures.
Pope Francis invited the 25,000 pilgrims present in St. Peter’s Square to pray a Hail Mary for the Filipino people, “whom I love so much. I pray for the numerous victims, for the injured and for their families,” he said.
In his message, the Holy Father wished the pilgrims the “joy of Christmas that fills our hearts even today that it would arouse in everyone the desire to contemplate Jesus in the cave of the manger, to then serve Him and love Him in our brothers, especially the most needy.” (Christinai I. Hermoso)
