AMERICA/CHILE - Closed for five months, Concepcion Cathedral now open for worship

Concepcion (Agenzia Fides) – Catholics in Concepcion welcomed the news that the city's cathedral, seriously damaged in the earthquake which shook Chile on 27 February this year and closed for repairs for five months, is now open for worship. Bishop Ricardo Ezzati presided the first Mass of thanksgiving, expressing gratitude to all who helped repair the damage and encouraging local people to take an active part to complete the reconstruction.
The Bishop announced that an ad hoc Concepcion Committee will launch a fund raising campaign to pay for the remaining repair work. The Bishop said that thanks to benefactors in Santiago, rubble had been removed and the central nave opened to allow the celebration of Masses. Regarding the date of completion of restoration work on the Cathedral the Bishop said: “Please God, in time for Christmas ”, but it will not be easy “much work remains to be done to the structures and the roof which was severely damaged”. The Bishop added “we must set to work ourselves and not expect everything to come from Santiago”.
During his homily, Bishop Ezzati encouraged the faithful to give a hand with repair work on the church. "The central nave has been declared safe by engineers and architects. The cathedral, already very beautiful, must be even more beautiful since it is a sign of God's communion with human beings and communion of human beings among themselves. I truly hope that the sons and daughters of the Church in Concepcion will find in their hearts the will to work to restore the architectural beauty of our cathedral which represents the beauty of our faith," he concluded.
(CE) (Agenzia Fides, 28/07/2010)