Port-au-Prince, Haiti - The Archbishop of Port-au-Prince is among those killed in the huge earthquake that devastated the city.
The body of Monsignor Serge Miot, 63, was pulled from the rubble of his offices, according to missionaries from the Saint Jacques Society.
The diocese’s vicar general, Benoit Seguiranno, is also missing following Tuesday’s 7.0-magnitude quake in Haiti, which is largely Catholic.
Father Andre Siohan, a missionary of the French Saint Jacques society, wrote in an e-mail to the Missionary International News Service Agency from Port-au-Prince: “Nou atè nèt” (in Creole, "We are on our knees").
He added: “I went to the city centre this morning to visit the other religious communities: the area is completely devastated and there are thousands of victims. It is terrible. We are all well, but some of our seminarians are missing. Some are injured, but some are maybe dead. Pray for us.”
Father Pierre Le Beller, who returned to France after serving around 30 years in Haiti, told the missionary agency by telephone: “Our confrères, some seminarians, friends and neighbours of the Pacot area are currently sheltered in tents in the gardens of our house, damaged by the quake.
“We fear an extremely elevated number of injured: the real emergency is that of treating them."
He added: “The accounts are tragic, screams and crying can be heard among the injured. We ask ourselves how many people are trapped under the rubble …"
Father Le Beller, who was speaking in French, had difficulty continuing the conversation.
The Caritas Centre in the central Saint Antoine neighbourhood, a facility for the assistance and reintegration of street children, which he founded and has dedicated his life to for many years, was devastated. All the youngsters survived, however.
Haiti is home to the Société des Prêtres de Saint Jacques mission, founded in 1966 by Monsignor François Poirier, at the time Archbishop of Port-au-Prince.
There are about 20 consecrated missionaries in the country and about 20 seminarians.
In London, the international Catholic aid agency Cafod pledged £100,000 to the earthquake relief effort.
Cafod said that there were no accurate figures of the number of dead and those made homeless by the quake, but it is clear that with a population of around 9 million people with 3 million living in the devastated capital, substantial humanitarian assitance will be required.
The money pledged will help Cafod partners to supply water, food, medicines and shelter to the most vulnerable in the worst affected areas.
Clare Dixon, Cafod's head of Latin America and the Caribbean, said: "Haiti is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere. Its people are used to civil strife, hurricanes and floods, earthquakes are not a normal occurrence, and with the majority of the population living in abject poverty, this earthquake will greatly increase their suffering."
The earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale, was the strongest to hit Haiti for 200 years and was followed by two strong aftershocks.
Speaking at his weekly general audience, Pope Benedict XVI also appealed to the international community and individuals to be quick and generous in their aid.
"The Catholic Church will immediately activate [its aid] through its charity institutions in order to respond to the most urgent needs of the population," he said.