Prayer urged for Haiti on anniversary

A woman holds a rosary as she prays during a mass at the Cathedral in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday. Wednesday marked the one year anniversary since Haiti's magnitude-7.0 earthquake that devastated the capital and is estimated to have killed more than 230,000 people and left millions homeless.

A million residents of Port-au-Prince remain homeless, with many still living in emergency tent housing. Catholic Relief Services told CNA on Jan. 11 that the recovery was proceeding slowly due to a lack of infrastructure in the dangerously overcrowded city, which is still filled with rubble from collapsed buildings.

The U.S. bishops have invited Catholics to pray a special novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe for the people of Haiti. The novena started on the evening of the anniversary, January 12, and culminates with the celebration of Mass the weekend of January 22-23.

Click on the headline to see the Novena.