Bishop Daisuke Narui, SVD, of Niigata, said the quake, which has an estimated magnitude of 7.6, has killed more than 200 people, injured more than 500, and resulted in several aftershocks and subsequent earthquakes, and caused massive destruction.
The Pope expressed solidarity with those suffering, those who have lost loved ones, saying he was "deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and damage caused by the earthquake in the Ishikawa prefecture."