Pope Francis told a
delegation from Marche towns hit by the August 24 earthquake
Wednesday that he would keep his promise to visit the areas. The
pope "confirmed that he will come to the quake zones. He said 'I
haven't done so yet so as to not hamper the rescue operations,"
Ascoli Piceno Mayor Guido Castelli told reporters after
attending the pope's general audience with Arquata del Tronto
Mayor Aleandro Petrucci and Ascoli Bishop Giovanni D'Ercole,
before meeting the pontiff briefly. About a thousand faithful
from Ascoli attended the weekly general audience, and many quake
survivors. The quake flattened several villages in central Italy
on the borders of Lazio and Marche and killed 297 people. The
worst-hot villages were Amatrice and Accumoli in Lazio and
Arquata del Tronto in Marche.
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