Pope Asks For Prayers For Victims Of Cold Wave

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI has called for prayers for the victims of the cold wave that is sweeping through Europe and offered encouragement to efforts to provide assistance to those in need.

Appearing at his weekly public audience Wednesday, Benedict expressed his closeness to those who are suffering from the cold and said “I am asking for prayers for the victims and their families.”

Europeans have been battling more than a week of extreme weather, with thousands still trapped by snow in remote mountain villages in the Balkans. Hundreds — most of them homeless people — have died in the extreme cold that has seen temperatures hit as low as minus 33 Fahrenheit (minus 36 Celsius).