News Digest

Volunteer killed in accident after stormy Tacloban Mass held by Pope Francis

Tragedy struck Pope Francis’ visit to the central Philippine city of Tacloban, where he was comforting victims of Typhoon Haiyan, a devastating storm that left more than 7,300 people dead or missing just over a year ago. Police said a 27-year-old volunteer with Catholic Relief Services who was among about 200,000 people who attended a rain-drenched Mass celebrated by the Pope near Tacloban’s seaside airport was killed after she was hit by scaffolding. Pope Francis was informed of the death and asked his aides to investigate how he might share in the family’s grief, said the Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi.

So many of you have lost everything. I don’t know what to say to you, but the Lord does know what to say to you. Some of you lost part of your families. All I can do is keep silent. And I walk with you all with my silent heart.

Pope Francis, speaking to crowds in Tacloban

Wearing a yellow plastic poncho to protect him from intense rain, Francis delivered an emotional mass to about 200,000 people in the typhoon-ravaged central Philippine city of Tacloban. Plans to spend the entire day in Tacloban were ruined by Tropical Storm Mekkhala, which forced him to fly back to Manila at lunchtime. The storm made landfall on nearby Samar Island two hours after Pope Francis left with winds of 100-130kph. A plane carrying three of President Benigno Aquino’s aides then overshot the runway on take-off at Tacloban and nosedived into mud, 30 minutes after Pope Francis’s plane flew back to Manila. No-one was badly injured.