Pope Francis held an open air mass Saturday in the Philippine city of Tacloban, which was devastated by Typhoon Haiyan just over a year ago.
Tens of thousands of people braved pouring rain and strong winds to attend the mass.
The Pope said that as soon as he saw the devastation caused by the typhoon he felt he had to go to the Philippines.
“So many of you have lost everything. I don’t know what to say to you,” he told the crowd. “But the Lord does know what to say to you. Some of you have lost part of your families. All I can do is keep silence, and I walk with you all with my silent heart.”
Tropical storm cuts short visit
After the mass, the Pope was scheduled to have lunch in the nearby town of Palo with the relatives of some of the people who died in Typhoon Haiyan, but he instead had to leave Tacloban early and return to Manila because of the approaching Tropical Storm Mekkhala.
Francis had arrived from the Philippine capital Manila early on Saturday to travel to Tacloban to pray for the dead and comfort the survivors.
His day trip to the coastal city, 650 kilometres southeast of Manila, gave him another opportunity to speak about climate change ahead of a major document on the environment he is due to issue in June.
Speaking at the presidential palace on Friday, the Pope said he admired the “heroic strength, faith and resilience” shown by the country as well as the solidarity people demonstrated after the typhoon.
Haiyan, which packed 250 km/h winds and created a seven-metre high storm surge, wiped out or damaged practically everything in its path as it swept ashore on Nov. 8, 2013.
Million remain homeless
The storm killed at least 6,000 people and destroyed around 90 per cent of the city of Tacloban in Leyte province. More than 14.5 million people were affected in six regions and 44 provinces. About one million people remain homeless.
The government estimates it needs almost 170 billion pesos ($3.8 billion US) to rebuild the affected communities, including the construction of a four-metre high dike along the 27-kilometre coastline to prevent a repeat of the disaster.
Nearly 3,000 victims are buried in the city’s almost half-hectare mass grave site. Hundreds are still unaccounted for.
