VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI prayed for the victims of a devastating earthquake in New Zealand and encouraged those involved in rescue efforts.

“My thoughts turn especially to the people there who are being severely tested by the tragedy,” he said Feb. 23 during his weekly general audience.

He expressed concern for the “considerable loss of life and the disappearance of many people, to say nothing of the damage to buildings.”

“Let us ask God to relieve their suffering and to support all who are involved in the rescue operations,” he said, asking people to join him in praying for the people who lost their lives.

The Pope also sent a telegram to Bishop Barry Jones of Christchurch, in which he expressed his condolences to the families who lost loved ones.

In the message, he assured “the people of the city and the nation of his prayers for all those who are working urgently to rescue and assist the trapped and injured, as well as for those laboring to restore essential services.”

He also called on God to offer courage and strength to all the people of New Zealand, it said.

A magnitude 6.3 tremor struck Christchurch, New Zealand, Feb. 22 around midday when large numbers of people were working in city offices and buildings.

At least 75 people were killed as buildings crumbled or collapsed. According to news reports Feb. 23, officials said 300 people were believed to still be missing.

Scientists said the tremor was an aftershock of the more powerful magnitude 7.1 quake that struck about 30 miles outside of Christchurch last September, but which left few people dead and injured.

The Feb. 22 quake, however, occurred much closer to the Earth’s surface, causing much more damage to buildings whose structures were possibly already compromised by the September tremor, experts said.

About 80% of the city was without water and about 40% without electricity Feb. 23, as the quake had burst many water mains and damaged power lines.

In addition to the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, several of the city’s historic churches were damaged or destroyed. Among them was the iconic Anglican ChristChurch Cathedral in the city center, which lost its 200-foot steeple.

Christchurch Bishop Barry Jones told the NZ Catholic newspaper that diocesan headquarters was “out of action” and that he was relying on a cell phone for communications with diocesan staff.

“So I’m not in a position to get information,” he said.

In a statement to the diocese, Bishop Jones said he was “stunned and deeply saddened by the loss of so many lives, the serious injuries to so many and the destruction of property that has been visited upon us so violently and suddenly.”

“I pray for those who have been killed and injured and also for those closest to them who never imagined when they last saw them that anything like this would happen,” he said. “There had been a sense of hope and confidence gradually growing as we came to terms with the consequences of the big earthquake last year, and this horrific disaster is a cruel blow to that hope.”

Archbishop Philip Wilson, president of the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference, extended “heartfelt thoughts” in a letter to Bishop Barry.

“The proximity of our countries and the solidarity we share in times of disaster lead us to feel enormous grief for what your people are experiencing,” Archbishop Wilson wrote.

Bishop-designate Charles Drennan, Blessed Sacrament cathedral administrator and diocesan chancellor, said engineers determined soon after the earthquake that it was unlikely that the historic church could be saved. The cathedral was undergoing repairs sustained in the September quake when the second temblor hit. Construction workers escaped, as did a custodian who was inside the cathedral.

Two bell towers at the front of the building collapsed, bringing down much of the cathedral’s front facade. Major cracking around the cathedral’s main dome also was evident, said Bishop-designate Drennan, who was named coadjutor bishop of Palmerston North Diocese Feb. 22 by Pope Benedict.

The cathedral’s stained-glass windows, which survived the first earthquake and some 4,000 aftershocks since, are “in ruins,” he said.

Bishop-designate Drennan said he was unaware of any casualties within the Catholic community, but civil authorities described the situation as “extremely grave.”

Priests at the cathedral rectory took shelter under a table when the earthquake struck, but one was able to see a tower collapse through a window.

Bishop-designate Drennan praised the actions of older students at nearby Catholic Cathedral College who built temporary shelters for younger students terrified by the quake. The children, from St. Paul’s School, in suburban Dallington, were forced to relocate to Catholic Cathedral College, a secondary school, after their school was destroyed in the September earthquake.