Homeless Join Friars For Mass Alfresco ‘I Invite All Of You To Rejoice In Life And Have Hope,’ Bishop Tells Quake-Stricken Italian Town

A few tourist buses pulled in. The people who live here, their churches damaged, went to outdoor Masses. And the Franciscan order ordained a new brother.

Three days after a pair of earthquakes jolted central Italy, Sunday brought the first signs of people struggling to return to normal life.

But thousands in the Umbria and Marche regions had to spend a second night out of their homes, many in tents and campers.

Disaster relief officials said 5,000 people are homeless, and space for more than twice that number was provided because many houses suffered some kind of damage. Some hill towns were almost razed by the quakes, which killed 10 people.

The government has raised $465 million in aid.

“Even though in this moment my soul is divided between joy and suffering, I invite all of you to rejoice in life and have hope,” Bishop Sergio Goretti of Assisi told 200 people in a parking lot full of tents.

Goretti ordained a young Filipino brother.

In Fabriano, 25 miles away, Bishop Luigi Scuppa told worshipers in the town’s public gardens: “We are alive, and for this we thank the Lord.”

One of the worst-hit churches was the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, where plunging sections of ceiling killed four people during the second of two quakes Friday.

The victims - a Franciscan friar, a novice of the order and two technicians - were in a group inspecting damage to frescoes from the earlier jolt when they were killed.

The second jolt destroyed frescoes by early master Cimabue and followers of the Italian master Giotto.

A cycle depicting the life of St. Francis, attributed by many to Giotto, suffered cracks, and a 3-foot fissure opened in the bell tower.

The family of one of the technicians, Bruno Brunacci, 40, is angry that he was called to inspect the basilica when it had been closed to the public; the family is considering legal action.

“If they didn’t let tourists enter, why the technicians? Why without precautions and without first verifying safety conditions?” Brunacci’s sister Antonella was quoted by the La Stampa daily of Turin, Italy, as saying.

Brunacci and the other technician, Claudio Bugiantella, 45, were buried Sunday in Assisi.

A few tourists braved continuing minor aftershocks.

“We knew about the earthquake, but we decided to come anyway,” said Tony Anning, 67, a retired professor from Bristol, England, who traveled here with a group of 46 others.

“Assisi was to be the highlight of our trip. We would have loved to do the basilica, but it will have to be on our next visit.”