In Aftermath of Italy Earthquake, Jehovah’s Witnesses Offer Comfort
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https://www.jw.org/en/news/releases/by-region/italy/witnesses-offer-com...
Jehovah’s Witnesses
OCTOBER 21, 2016
ITALY
Witnesses’ Campaign Offers Comfort in Aftermath of
Italy Earthquake
ROME—Throughout September 2016, Jehovah’s Witnesses distributed an edition of the Watchtower
magazine focused on comfort. The cover series entitled “Where Can You Find Comfort?” was the key
feature of the Witnesses’ global campaign. The Witnesses have been making special efforts to offer
Bible-based comfort in central Italy, where a magnitude 6.2 earthquake violently shook the regions of
Lazio, Marche, and Umbria on August 24, 2016, killing almost 300 people and displacing over 2,000.
Christian Di Blasio, a spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses in Italy, states: “This global campaign was
designed to offer comfort to people in all countries and circumstances, but here in Italy, we are
especially alert to the difficulties facing victims of the earthquake, as well as those involved in the
relief work.”
Although there are 15 congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses located in the disaster area, no
Witnesses died or were severely injured. However, three of the Witnesses’ houses were destroyed,
and others were damaged. Mr. Di Blasio revealed that some of the Witnesses whose homes were
damaged volunteered to offer comfort to their neighbors using the magazine. Additionally, Witnesses
who survived a previous earthquake volunteered to speak with victims. Mr. Di Blasio states: “The
volunteers have expressed that the Bible’s message has been a positive and comforting influence in
their lives, and they want to do as much as they can to share this comfort with others in the
community who are suffering.”
10/22/2016 6:35 AM
In Aftermath of Italy Earthquake, Jehovah’s Witnesses Offer Comfort
2 of 2
https://www.jw.org/en/news/releases/by-region/italy/witnesses-offer-com...
Copyright © 2016 Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania.
Media Contacts:
International: David A. Semonian, Office of Public
Information, 1-718-560-5000
Italy: Christian Di Blasio, 39-06-872941
Jehovah’s Witnesses speak with an earthquake
victim in Amatrice, the town which suffered the
greatest number of casualties.
The Watchtower is the most widely distributed magazine in the world, with a monthly printing
of over 58,000,000 copies in 274 languages. For their global campaign during the month of
September 2016, the Witnesses initially printed over 83,500,000 copies of the issue, but high
demand prompted them to print even more editions.
10/22/2016 6:35 AM