Pope Francis, nag-alay ng pangalangin sa mga biktima ng Typhoon Vinta!

On Christmas eve, Pope Francis offered his prayers for the victims of Typhoon Vinta, which devastated the southern part of the country and killed some 200 people.

“I want to offer my prayers to the population of the island of Mindanao, in the Philippines, hit by a storm that has caused numerous victims and destruction,” the Pope said in his weekly blessing in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.

‘I wish to assure my prayers for the population of Mindanao in the Philippines,’ Pope Francis added.

“May the merciful Lord receive the souls of the dead and comfort those who are suffering from this disaster,” the Pope said.

Moreover, Vinta killed at least 200 people and forced 70,000 others out of their homes, in a predominantly Christian country where Christmas is a major holiday bringing families together.

Vinta struck less than a week after Tropical Storm Urduja (Kai-Tak) left scores dead and more than 20 missing in the central Philippines, straining the disaster-prone nation’s already stretched resources.

Yet, the deadliest typhoon to hit the country is still Yolanda (Haiyan), which killed thousands and destroyed entire towns in heavily populated areas of the central Philippines in November 2013.

When the Pope visited the Philippines in January 2015, he also consoled victims of Yolanda, telling them, “I am here to be with you. A little bit late, I have to say, but I’m here.”