Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Lima (Agenzia Fides) - On Saturday 15 September, a month since the earthquake which affected a the towns of Ica, Chincha, Pisco, Cañete, Yauyos, Huaytara and Castrovirreyna in south Chico, Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne, Archbishop of Lima, will preside a special open-air Mass concelebrated by the clergy of Ica and Lima, at 5pm in the Plaza de Armi in the town of Pisco, one of the most affected by the quake. Special prayers will be said for the dead and the grieving families and for the immediate rebuilding of the destroyed towns.
The Lima archdiocese offered the stricken people immediate aid through its Caritas office and continues to collect and distribute supplies especially in areas not yet reached by state assistance. The archdioceses has also organised pastoral care in the affected areas sending teams of priests to help the clergy in Ica, celebrating Mass, hearing confessions, offering the injured the comfort of the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick and celebrating funerals. As a gesture of solidarity with the suffering people of Pisco, Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani has offered to rebuild the church of San Clemente in Pisco.
Caritas Peru is also helping the victims. With the funds collected through a solidarity campaign for earthquake victims in Pisco, Ica and Cañete, it has already distributed 1.672 tons of aid and provided assistance for 28,500 families in Ica, 6,727 families in Pisco and 16,440 families in Chincha. Assistance is now focussing on plans for rebuilding as soon as possible and a post-emergency assistance programme to guarantee basic necessities for the affected families. Fund raising programmes and initiatives have been launched by several of the country's cultural associations. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 14/9/2007; righe 21, parole 315)
