Pope Visits Italy's Quake Region

Pope Benedict XVI visited the region in central Italy Tuesday ravaged by this month's earthquake, offering words of comfort to the survivors and calling for the rebirth of the area.

The pope's first stop was the village of Onna, which was virtually leveled and where around 40 of its 300 residents were killed by the quake.

The pope was greeted by authorities as he arrived under a light rain.

He met with villagers living in tents and at one point kissed a baby who was held by his mother. He held hands, asked questions and offered words of comfort as he met with the survivors.

"I would like to affectionately embrace you one by one," the pope told the homeless survivors, standing in front of a tent, a few hundreds survivors just a few steps away.

"Had it been possible, I would have liked to visit each village, each neighborhood, go to each tent camp and meet everyone."

The April 6 quake claimed 296 lives and hit 26 towns and villages in the Abruzzo region in the Apennine mountains. The 6.3-magnitude temblor drove around 50,000 from their homes and toppled or heavily damaged thousands of buildings across the region.

In Onna alone, 267 people are living in tents, and only a handful will be able to go back to the homes still standing on the village's outskirts.

Across the region, CBS News correspondent Allen Pizzey reports that some 39,000 people are living in more than 160 tent cities, with little prospect of going home, even if they are willing to risk it.

Benedict sought to encourage the survivors, saying he had admired their "courage, dignity and faith" in the face of tragedy.

Pizzey reports that the pontiff praised the rescue effort, but said the response could not be limited to the initial emergency. The government claims reconstruction will be done in six months, but few in Italy believe it will happen - even with the help of prayers from the Pope.

He appealed to institutions and companies to turn the relief and solidarity in the aftermath of the quake into a long-term project. The victims, the pope said, "are waiting to see the rebirth of their land, which must go back to be adorned with beautiful and solid homes and churches."

Onna resident Maria Pia Falasca said her house was destroyed and her friends lost children and other relatives. "I'm happy the pope is coming but he can't take away our suffering," the woman said as she was awaiting the pontiff's arrival.

In L'Aquila, the regional capital, Benedict will visit the ruins of the 13th-century Santa Maria di Collemaggio basilica, the symbol of the city whose roof caved in during the quake. He is expected to pray before the salvaged remains of Pope Celestine V, the 13th-century hermit and saint who was the only pope to resign.

He will also stop at a collapsed student dorm in L'Aquila and greet civil protection crews who are caring for the thousands of people living in tents, before returning to the Vatican.

Among the civil protection workers awaiting the pope was Germana D'Onofrio, who cooks meals for the homeless. "I feed the body and the pope feeds the spirit," she said.

The pontiff had been scheduled to fly to the area by helicopter, but heavy winds and rains forced the Vatican to scrap that plan. Benedict was driven instead, but by the time his speech was concluded in Onna, a strong sun had broken through the clouds.