Italian Town to Help Rebuild N.Y. Church

NEW YORK, SEPT. 27, 2001 (Zenit.org).- A Greek Orthodox church destroyed by the collapse of the World Trade Center will receive $500,000 for reconstruction from the mayor of Bari, Italy, the Associated Press reported.

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Italian Foreign Minister Renato Ruggiero announced the aid for St. Nicholas´ Church on Wednesday. St. Nicholas is the patron saint of Bari.

«I have brought just a small gesture of solidarity, but I believe it a significant one,» Ruggiero said.

The church has about 80 members. The building was constructed in 1832 and later housed a tavern. Greek immigrants made it a church in 1916.

Orthodox Father John Romas said he wants the church to be rebuilt as a memorial to the attack victims. See http://www.stnicholasnyc.org/.

«When amid the other terrible news that arrived from New York, it was known that even the little church, built in 1916, dedicated to San Nicola, … was destroyed, we heard almost a call in the name of St. Nicholas,´´ Bari Mayor Simeone di Cagno Abbresciadi told the ANSA news agency.

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