"The explosion of missiles, bombs and munitions practically razed the neighborhood's buildings to the ground, causing more than 200 deaths among soldiers and civilians and leaving more than 2,000 injured," reported Fides, the news agency of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

The Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny, who operate the city's university hospital, confirmed the disaster and said the number of victims is certain to increase, Fides reported.

The news agency spoke briefly by telephone with Archbishop Anatole Milandou of Brazzaville before phone lines went down. He said, "I'm with the orphans of the victims of the catastrophe. The church of St. Louis was completely swept away by the wave" of explosions.

The most serious explosion occurred after Mass had ended, Fides said it was told. There were still parishioners on the church grounds, though, and it is almost certain that some of them died.

The apostolic nunciature in Brazzaville was damaged slightly, but no one there was injured, sources told Fides. The nunciature staff later joined government officials and representatives of social service and aid agencies to mobilize assistance for the victims and the homeless.

"Currently, more than 2,500 people are being hosted in structures made available by the Catholic Church," particularly parishes in nearby neighborhoods, Fides said March 5. "Diocesan Caritas and the many dispensaries run by religious orders scattered throughout the city are doing a laudable job in caring for and assisting the hundreds of injured who cannot find a bed in the state-run hospitals, which are already at the point of collapse," Fides said.