The second floor of St. Peter the Apostle Church in San José del Monte in the Philippines collapsed during Ash Wednesday Mass on Feb. 14, 2024. / Credit: Public Information Office of San José del MonteACI Prensa Staff, Feb 15, 2024 / 18:10 pm (CNA).The balcony floor of a Catholic church in the Philippines collapsed during Ash Wednesday Mass on Feb. 14, leaving one woman dead and dozens injured.According to the Public Information Office (PIO) of the city of San José del Monte in the Philippine province of Bulacan, around 7 a.m. local time the balcony of St. Peter the Apostle Church collapsed, creating fear and chaos among the faithful attending the Mass on the first day of Lent.According to the PIO, witnesses heard a loud noise and then screams from the people who fell from the balcony and from some who were on the first floor, all participating in the Mass.This photo shows a general view of a partially collapsed balcony inside St. Peter the Apostle Church in San Jose del Monte,...
The second floor of St. Peter the Apostle Church in San José del Monte in the Philippines collapsed during Ash Wednesday Mass on Feb. 14, 2024. / Credit: Public Information Office of San José del Monte
ACI Prensa Staff, Feb 15, 2024 / 18:10 pm (CNA).
The balcony floor of a Catholic church in the Philippines collapsed during Ash Wednesday Mass on Feb. 14, leaving one woman dead and dozens injured.
According to the Public Information Office (PIO) of the city of San José del Monte in the Philippine province of Bulacan, around 7 a.m. local time the balcony of St. Peter the Apostle Church collapsed, creating fear and chaos among the faithful attending the Mass on the first day of Lent.
According to the PIO, witnesses heard a loud noise and then screams from the people who fell from the balcony and from some who were on the first floor, all participating in the Mass.
According to the Philippine newspaper PhilStar, 52 people were injured and immediately taken to different local hospitals. So far, an 80-year-old woman was the only one who died in the collapse.
Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council personnel went to the scene as well as members of the San José del Monte city police station, firefighters, the city's engineering department, a cleanup crew, and health care personnel.
Various clearing operations are still going on in the area.
The mayor of San José del Monte, Arthur Robes, also went to the scene and said that an investigation will be carried out to determine what happened. One explanation, according to Infobae, is that structural wood may have been eaten away by termites, causing the floor to give way.
According to PhilStar, St. Peter the Apostle Church announced that the subsequent Masses were canceled by order of the mayor until city officials can assess the condition of the building.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Pope Francis waves while traveling by boat in Venice, Italy, for a meeting with young people at the Basilica della Madonna della Salute on April 28, 2024. Earlier in the day he met with inmates at a women's prison. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNARome Newsroom, Apr 28, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).Pope Francis opened his one-day visit to Venice on Sunday morning with a meeting with female inmates where he reaffirmed the importance of fraternity and human dignity, noting that prison can be a place of new beginnings. "A stay in prison can mark the beginning of something new, through the rediscovery of the unsuspected beauty in us and in others, as symbolized by the artistic event you are hosting and the project to which you actively contribute," the pope said to the female inmates gathered in the intimate courtyard of the Women's Prison on the Island of Giudecca. Pope Francis left the Vatican by helicopter at approximately 6:30 in the mo...
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