Just one day after meeting with the world's cardinals in Rome, Pope Francis traveled to the Italian town of L'Aquila.
After arriving via helicopter, the Pope was greeted by Cardinal Giuseppe Petrocchi, metropolitan archbishop of L'Aquila.
Gathered in the square to receive Pope Francis were the families of the victims of an earthquake that struck the town in 2009, killing 309 people.
POPE FRANCIS
The pain is there, and the nice words help, but the pain remains, and it doesn't go away with words. Only closeness, friendship, affection, walking together, helping each other as brothers and sisters, and going forward: either we are a people of God, or these painful problems are not resolved.
The Pope then put on a hard hat and visited the nearby cathedral, which is still closed to the public due to the damage from the earthquake.
NATS
JM
