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A sudden, "explosive" landslide in Papua New Guinea took the lives of thousands in the early hours of Friday. Pope Francis assured his "spiritual closeness" to all those affected. Later this year, he is scheduled to visit the island nation, as part of his longest trip as pontiff.
"Praying especially for the dead, those who mourn their loss, and for the rescue of the many persons still missing, His Holiness offers encouragement to the civil authorities and emergency personnel as they continue their relief efforts, and willingly invokes upon all the divine blessings of consolation and strength," the papal message said, signed by the Pope's secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
The Holy Father addressed the messages to Archbishop Mauro Lalli, his apostolic nuncio in the country.
The tragedy occurred in Enga, in the north of the island nation. An entire village is said to have been buried, after the country has experienced heavy rainfall in recent days.
On Monday, Britain's King Charles III, who is also head of state of Papua New Guinea, sent his and the Queen's condolences.
Papua New Guinea is home to about 10 million people, around a quarter of whom are Catholic.
Pope Francis will visit Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore from September 2 to 13, announced the Vatican press office on April 12, 2024. This 45th trip outside Italy since 2013 will be the longest of Francis’ pontificate, and his first trip to Oceania.
The 87-year-old Pontiff is due to head to the region on September 2 to arrive in Jakarta the following day, September 3. He will remain in the Indonesian capital until September 6, before heading for the capital of Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby, on the same day. The Pontiff will remain in this country until September 9. Other than the capital city he is expected to visit also Vanimo, a small town on the Pacific coast in the very northwest of the country.
