Sister Margaret Ann, wearing her nun's habit, was caught on camera using the heavy equipment to help clear a tree toppled by the ferocious storm. Continue reading

After spending the night in his truck, Father Bergeron got into his kayak the next morning. His mission? To return to his parish and say Mass for Catholics stranded in the flood waters. Continue reading

The city of Les Cayes and coastal towns and villages in the south west of Haiti experienced the most destruction.

Les Cayes and surrounding areas are the focus of concern for Catholic Relief Services.

Matthew hit the island with 145-mile-per-hour winds.

It has reduced from a category four to a category three storm but may strengthen again to a category four storm when it hits the Bahamas and Florida.

It has so far claimed the lives of 11 people in Haiti, Cuba and the Dominican Republic.

Forecasters expect Matthew to dump up to 40 inches of rain in some areas.

Catholic Relief Service communications manager, Kim Pozniak, said Les Cayes landslide potential is high.

She added staff are troubled over the well-being of residents who decided to stay in their homes despite calls to evacuate.

"I was told by staff in Les Cayes yesterday that the government was going around with megaphones to alert people.

"But many decided to stay put to protect their homes and belongings.

"We've heard that some people did not think the storm would be as severe as predicted," Pozniak said.

She said Chris Bessey, Catholic Relief Service country director, had been in contact with CRS staff in Les Cayes, despite disruptions in electrical and internet service.

"Trees were knocked down and also there was some flooding already," she said.

Source

• The Tablet
• www.bostonglobe.com

The pope on Sunday said he wanted to express his sympathy to those hit by the devastating hurricane that struck Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica and the Bahamas "with particular violence."

Hurricane Sandy left nearly 60 dead in the Caribbean.

The pope called on followers to show their solidarity with those suffering, and to help relieve "the pain of the victims' relatives and offer help to the thousands of people who suffered damage."

In his address to pilgrims after the Angelus, the pope assured all those affected by the storm of his spiritual closeness, and promised to remember the victims in prayer.

Pope Benedict asked all the faithful to pray for those affected and issued a general call for concrete acts of solidarity.

"I wish to assure you of my closeness and my recollection of those who have been affected by this natural disaster, while I invite everyone to prayer and solidarity, in order to alleviate the pain of the families of the victims and offer support to the thousands of people who have been hurt in various ways by the storm," the pope said.

The hurricane strengthened on Monday after hundreds of thousands moved to higher ground, public transport shut down and the U.S. stock market in New York suffered its first weather-related closure in 27 years, Reuters reported.

About 50 million people from the Mid-Atlantic to Canada were in the path of the nearly 1,600-km-wide storm, which forecasters said could be the largest to hit the mainland in U.S. history.

It was expected to topple trees, damage buildings, cause power outages and trigger heavy flooding.

Nine U.S. states have declared states of emergency, and with the U.S. election eight days away President Barack Obama canceled a campaign event in Florida on Monday in order to return to Washington and monitor the U.S. government's response to the storm.

Sources

• AP/Montreal Gazette
• Independent Catholic News
• The Telegraph (video)
• Reuters
• Image: NASA