VATICAN CITY (UCAN) -- Pope Benedict XVI has extended his condolences to "the families of the victims" and "to the entire nation" of Bangladesh in the wake of Cyclone Sidr, and has asked the international community to make every effort to assist them.

"In recent days a tremendous cyclone hit southern Bangladesh, causing very many victims and serious destruction," the 80-year-old pope told thousands of pilgrims gathered in St Peter's Square on Sunday, 18 November, to hear his words and receive his blessing.

Speaking from his study window in the Apostolic Palace after the midday Angelus, he expressed his "most profound sympathy to the families (of the victims) and to the entire nation which is so dear to me."

Bangladesh, with a population of 147 million people, is classified by the United Nations as one of the world's 49 poorest countries, with a 70 percent illiteracy rate and per-capita annual income of US$170.

The great majority of the population, 85 percent, are Muslims, and another 11 percent Hindus. Buddhists account for about 2 percent and Christians less than 1 percent of the population.

Sidr struck the country on the evening of Nov. 15 with winds of 220-240 kilometers an hour, according to Caritas Bangladesh, the local Church's relief and development agency. On Nov. 18, Caritas was reporting almost 2,000 people confirmed dead, unofficial estimates exceeding 3,000 and thousands more missing.

That same day, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies estimated that almost 850,000 families totaling 2.7 million people had been affected. It reported 500,000 houses in 25 districts had been destroyed and more than 270,000 more damaged.

Pope Benedict said: "I appeal to international solidarity, which has already moved to respond to the immediate necessities, and I encourage it to activate every possible effort to help these brothers and sisters who have been so hard hit."

Caritas regional offices in Barisal, Chittagong and Khulna have been procuring essential food items, organizing transport and drawing up beneficiary lists, according to the Caritas Bangladesh website.

An update posted on Nov. 18 listed pledges totaling US$1.15 million from other Caritas organizations in Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and the United states as well as from the German government.

The Italian Church's Caritas organization has announced it is collecting money to help the people in distress. The European Union has allotted 1.6 million euros (about US$2.3 million) to help the humanitarian operation, according to reports, while the Italian and other individual governments said they would also contribute humanitarian aid. Thousands of migrants from Bangladesh work in Italy and send home their earnings.

Bangladesh and the Holy See established diplomatic relations in 1972, and Pope John Paul II visited the country in 1986.

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