VATICAN CITY – After leading thousands of pilgrims in praying the Angelus, Pope Francis offered prayers for flood victims in Texas and Louisiana following a devastating hurricane that caused massive flooding.

KATHMANDU, Nepal – Arsonists attempted to set fire to Assumption Cathedral, the first public Catholic worship place in Hindu-majority Nepal.

KATHMANDU, Nepal - Every Saturday morning businessman Rajan Silwal rushes to the Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu to see a few friends.

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.

KATHMANDU, Nepal - Members of the Missionaries of Charity had to spend more than two hours waiting at police headquarters for clearance before they could deliver food, blankets and other promised relief to earthquake victims in a remote mountainous area of Nepal.

The Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace has so far collected $600,800 for relief efforts in Nepal.

The development arm of Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs Trade and Development will match all funds collected by May 25.

NAMJUNG, Nepal - "Sir, because of luck, we all survived. But, we may die of hunger," Mithuram Pariyar said when a church relief team arrived after a four-hour drive from Kathmandu.

It’s unavoidable and it’s everywhere. In our newspapers, on our televisions and computers. No matter how hard you try to avoid it, it will always find a way to pop up. When it comes to bad news, we’re going to hear it one way or another.

NAMJUNG, Nepal - As the magnitude-7.3 quake hit, screaming and shouting filled the mountain village of Namjung, where approximately 600 people had gathered to collect relief material being distributed by Catholic Relief Services.

KATHMANDU, Nepal - Anam Tamang was excited: A truck of earthquake relief supplies had finally arrived at Caritas Nepal headquarters in Kathmandu.

The April 25 earthquake that killed more than 8,000 and left close to 15,000 injured was bad, but “it could have been terribly, terribly worse,” said Canadian Jesuit Father Bill Robins.

KATHMANDU, Nepal - Truckloads of relief material organized by church charities began moving across Nepal a week after the Himalayan nation was rocked by a magnitude-7.8 earthquake April 25.

OTTAWA - Canada's Catholic bishops and the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (D&P) have launched a joint emergency campaign to help earthquake victims in Nepal.