MACAU (UCAN) -- A heavy downpour did not stop 300 Macau residents from taking part in an outdoor candlelight vigil to pray for the victims of the earthquake that struck Sichuan province exactly a month earlier.

Children and parents, youths, Catholic priests and nuns stood huddled together, many holding an umbrella in one hand and a lit candle in the other, on the granite steps leading up from Jesuit Square to the Ruins of St. Paul's. Caritas Macau organized the June 12 vigil.

The ruins, what remains of the facade of a 16th-century church, are a Macau landmark.

The 90-minute evening event, themed Reborn after the quake, kindle hope, included eye-witness accounts from doctors, teachers, students and journalists who visited quake-hit areas. Participants sang hymns in Chinese, as well as inspirational Western pop songs including Hero and We are the World. Bishop Jose Lai Hung-seng of Macau, also addressed the gathering.

Caritas secretary general Paul Pun Chi-meng told UCA News before the vigil started that the event would continue despite the inclement weather. He said he did not believe the downpour would extinguish the flame of compassion that the disaster had ignited in local people for their Sichuan compatriots.

Macau and southern China have been hit by torrential rains in recent weeks.

Bishop Lai, 62, told participants the Sichuan quake tragically took the lives of tens of thousands of people. Mainland aid volunteers and soldiers as well as workers of international charity organizations risked their lives to save survivors, he added, stressing appreciation for their work.

Besides mourning the dead, the prelate urged the local people to do all they can to help survivors rebuild their homes and schools, and resume normal life.

Ma Wing-see, a student from a local Catholic secondary school, shared with the gathering how she has learned to value her own family, friends and classmates in the wake of this catastrophe. Ma, who is not Catholic, said she hoped God would bless the Sichuan survivors as they continue their life.

At the vigil, onlookers as well as participants bought special "hope handkerchiefs" to support fund-raising efforts for the quake-hit areas. They also wrote messages of encouragement and solidarity on greeting cards for Caritas workers to deliver to the survivors.

Ah Wai, a junior high student at a school run by Caritas, the local Church's social action organization, told UCA News he has donated pocket money to help the survivors and assisted in other fund-raising efforts. The student, who is not a Catholic, also helped the June 12 vigil run smoothly.

Domingos Tam, a Catholic studying in Australia who is now home for his school vacation, told UCA News he felt sad not only for the quake victims, but also for the cyclone victims in Myanmar.

Pun, who has visited disaster areas in Sichuan twice since the quake, told UCA News on June 12 that he met an injured boy who cried continuously, even after being given an electronic game to play with. However, when the Caritas official gave him a card from Macau students wishing him well, the child suddenly beamed and said he hoped to receive more such cards.

"For this child, the most important thing was the care of others," he said. "This shows the importance of love and care between people."

Pun noted that several Macau residents at the vigil had applied to be volunteer workers in the disaster areas, and he revealed that in July, Caritas Macau would take volunteers to help survivors rebuild their homes.

So far Caritas has raised about 4 million patacas (US$500,000), mainly for rebuilding schools, he added.

According to June 17 figures released by China's State Council, the 8.0-magnitude quake that rocked Sichuan and neighboring provinces in southwestern China on May 12 killed 69,172 people and injured 374,159 others. Another 17,420 people were still listed as missing.

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