ROME – When the earth shook and the walls came tumbling down in Norcia earlier this week, the Benedictine monks who live in the picturesque central Italian town somehow survived without a scratch.

ROME – Priests in central Italy were instructed to celebrate Mass outdoors following another devastating earthquake that rocked the region and brought one its most spiritually and historically significant churches tumbling down.

VATICAN CITY – Along with the Christmas-tree lighting ceremony and the unveiling of the Nativity creche, Pope Francis' raffle to benefit those in need is becoming an annual holiday tradition at the Vatican.

VATICAN CITY – Amid the devastation wrought by an earthquake in central Italy, Pope Francis quietly prayed and offered words of consolation to survivors and those assisting in relief efforts.

VATICAN CITY – While Pope Francis has expressed his sympathy for the victims of Italy’s devastating earthquake, few may have realized the pontiff himself was shaken by the 6.2 magnitude temblor as he slept at his residence inside the walls of the Vatican.

Pope Francis led prayers for the victims of Italy’s earthquake and announced plans to visit survivors in the affected area soon.

JAMA, Ecuador – Ask Jose Santos about the earthquake that struck the northern coast of Ecuador in April and he paints a vivid picture.

VATICAN CITY – After a strong earthquake struck central Italy and with the early news reporting many deaths and serious damage, Pope Francis turned his weekly general audience Aug. 24 into a prayer service.

ROME – Faith-based volunteers are joining civil protection teams sifting through the collapsed buildings and debris of a 6.2-magnitude earthquake that hit central Italy this week as the search for survivors continues.

QUITO, Ecuador – Catholic agencies are beginning to build temporary shelters for thousands of families in Ecuador made homeless by the South American country's worst natural disaster in nearly seven decades.

Jan. 12 marks the sixth anniversary of the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that devastated Haiti in 2010. The anniversary always takes me back to time spent in Haiti two years after the earthquake. It was a life- changing experience.

TORONTO - In 2010, Morgan Wienberg’s future was set: she was headed to McGill University to study nursing to specialize in pediatric surgery because she knew she wanted to work with children. But her plans were derailed when a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti.

VATICAN CITY - As the death toll from an earthquake in Pakistan and Afghanistan continued to rise, Pope Francis called for prayers and concrete aid for survivors.

KATHMANDU, Nepal - Like thousands of Nepalese homeowners, Sobha Laksmi Maharjan lost her residence in the devastating earthquake that rocked Nepal April 25. But she remains busy and cheerful at work despite the hardship.

TORONTO - Nepalese are busy rebuilding their country a month after the first of two devastating earthquakes. But the mountainous Asian nation got its practice in disaster recovery putting communities back together during more than a decade of civil war between Maoist rebels and government forces — a war that set individual communities in violent opposition to one another.