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Pope prays for victims and rescuers in California wildfires
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 11, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 27, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
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Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 11, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 27, 2026
Pope Francis prays for victims and rescuers of California wildfires, which have killed 11 and forced 153,000 evacuations in Los Angeles.
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis is praying for victims and rescuers trying to control the wildfires in California that have killed at least 11 people and destroyed thousands of homes, the Vatican said on Saturday.
"His Holiness Pope Francis assures you and the community affected by this tragedy of his spiritual closeness," said a statement sent on the pope's behalf to the Archbishop of Los Angeles, Jose H. Gomez.
Expressing "heartfelt condolences for those who mourn their loss", Francis also offered prayers "for the relief efforts of emergency services personnel" and imparted "his blessing to all as a pledge of consolation and strength in the Lord".
Los Angeles is home to the largest Catholic community in the United States, according to the LA Catholics website.
Six simultaneous wildfires have devastated Los Angeles County neighbourhoods since Tuesday, forcing the evacuation of some 153,000 people and consuming 35,000 acres (14,100 hectares) - or 54 square miles, 2-1/2 times the land area of Manhattan.
(Reporting by Alvise Armellini, editing by Barbara Lewis)
The article discusses Pope Francis praying for victims and rescuers of the California wildfires.
At least 11 people have died, and 153,000 have been evacuated.
Los Angeles is home to the largest Catholic community in the USA, and it is severely affected by the wildfires.
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