Pope Leo XIV offers prayers to quake-devastated Cebu

Pope Leo XIV has offered his prayers and sympathies to the victims of the powerful magnitude 6.9 earthquake that rocked Cebu on Tuesday evening and left scores of Filipinos dead.

According to a report on CBCP news, the official news service of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, Cebu Archbishop Alberto Uy said he received the Pope’s message through Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines Archbishop Charles John Brown.

“The Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, Archbishop Charles John Brown, called me to convey the Holy Father’s heartfelt sympathies for all the survivors of the earthquake, and his prayers for the eternal repose of the victims,” Uy said.

Uy added that the Pontiff also assured the faithful of his “spiritual closeness as communities grieve and begin recovery efforts.”

On Thursday, the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office said the devastating earthquake has claimed 72 lives so far in Cebu, which has been placed under a state of calamity.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the magnitude 6.9 earthquake is the strongest earthquake ever recorded in northern Cebu, with 2,461 aftershocks so far. — JMA, GMA Integrated News