AMATRICE – Pope Francis made a surprise visit to various earthquake-ravaged towns in central Italy Tuesday and met with pupils and teachers in a temporary school building erected by civil defence workers, the Vatican said.

 The pontiff arrived to Amatrice Tuesday morning in a Volkswagen Golf car with dark windows at 9:10 am, accompanied by the bishop of Rieti, Monsignor Domenico Pompili, to bring moral support to the population hit by the Aug. 24 quake.

 He was welcomed by the students of the primary and middle schools who offered him their drawings. The pope hugged and greeted the students one by one, and listened to their tales.

 After the visit to the school, where he stayed with the pupils and teachers for about 20 minutes, Francis toured the ‘Red Zone’ where buildings were flattened or severely damaged. Here he was accompanied by members of the region's Fire Brigade.

 Alone in front of the ruins the head of the Holy See stopped to pray in silence.

  "I am with you in this and I pray for you," said the pontiff in an address to the quake victims.

 "I did not come earlier so as not to create problems, taking into account your situation. I did not want to create bother," he said humbly.

 The mayor of Amatrice, Sergio Pirozzi, said that the “the presence of the pope is an important message, it brings hope and rebirth. I am strong but every so often the strength can wane and a pat on the back always helps. I will wait for Francis at Easter because it is my dream that that day there will be houses and a recovery of all the town's activity.”

 Francis carried on his journey around the earthquake-stricken regions, visiting Accumoli and Arquata del Tronto as well.

 At Arquata the pope was accompanied by Monsignor Giovanni D’Ercole, the bishop of Ascoli Piceno. Here he greeted over 100 people, speaking to them and praying with them. He also visited a make-shift school in the tent camp.

 “Have courage, always onwards, always onwards. Times will change and we will be able to carry on. I am next to you, I am with you,” said the pontiff in an address to the town’s citizens.

 A quake of magnitude 3.6 was registered at 2:41 pm about 7km from Norcia, around the area where the pope is visiting.

 nkd-jp