The highest leader of the Catholic Church visited the town stricken by a strong quake in August in Italy.
Pope Francis was seen praying silently alone amid the rubble in the hardest-hit part of the devastated town of Amatrice in Central Italy.
Francis had earlier made clear he intends to visit the quake-stricken zone but he did not announce a date. He indicated that he wanted to go alone “to be close to the people.”
On Tuesday, the Pope has made a surprise visit to the site of the devastating earthquake in central Italy in August.
The quake which had happened on August 24 killed nearly 300 people and left another 4,000 people homeless until now after the houses and other structures were reduced into rubble.
The Pope’s visit to the quake zone in central Italy shortly after his arrival Tuesday morning was announced by Vatican.
This is a form of keeping with Francis’ previously stated wishes to keep the visit private and don’t let other people know.
According to Vatican Radio, the pope told survivors, “I didn’t come earlier so as not to cause problems, given your condition.” “I didn’t want to be a bother.”
Photographs released by the Vatican showed the pope praying amid the rubble with Amatrice’s medieval bell tower.
The bell tower was visible in the background since it is still standing in what has become a symbol of hope.
The Vatican said the Pope started his tour at the makeshift school set up in containers where he meet with more than 100 elementary and middle school students, some of whom gave him drawings. He also met with a man who lost his wife and children in the quake.
From Amatrice, the pope was expected to visit the hard-hit towns of Accumoli and Arquata del Tronto where many people also died and was injured.