From St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, June 14, Pope Leo XIV turned the attention of pilgrims gathered for the midday Angelus toward the southern Philippines, where a powerful earthquake the week before had left dozens dead and entire communities reeling.
“I pray for the deceased and their families, for the wounded, and for all those suffering because of this disaster,” the pontiff said, in the official English translation issued by the Vatican.
The Pope opened his remarks by voicing personal solidarity with the country. “I assure the people of the Philippines, struck a few days ago by a powerful earthquake, of my closeness,” he said. He asked those present to join him in praying for everyone caught in the tragedy.
The magnitude 7.8 quake struck on the morning of Monday, June 8, off the coast of Sarangani province. Its force was strong enough to trigger tsunami warnings that extended beyond Philippine shores to several neighboring countries.
As of the latest tallies reported by GMA News and Philstar, 61 people have been confirmed killed. Crux reported that roughly 1,400 others were injured, while around 40 remained unaccounted for as of Sunday. General Santos City, near the epicenter, bore some of the heaviest structural damage.
The United States Geological Survey placed the quake’s depth at about 55 kilometers, though seismological agencies differed slightly in their measurements — the Indonesian geophysical agency, for instance, logged the moment magnitude at 7.7. Philippine authorities initially recorded the event at magnitude 7.0 before revising it upward.
The pontiff’s appeal came as Catholic institutions across the Philippines mobilized relief drives, with collections being channeled to Caritas Philippines for distribution to displaced families and frontline responders.
