Drilling machines work in the rescue operation to free 33 miners trapped in the San Esteban gold and copper mine in Copiapo, 800 km north of Santiago, on August 24, 2010. Officials in Chile said Tuesday they have asked the US space agency NASA for assistance in keeping the miners supplied with food. (MARTIN BERNETTI/AFP/Getty Images)

*

Rescuers work on August 25, 2010 on the site were a drilling machine will be installed to rescue 33 miners that have been living in unimaginable conditions deep below ground for 20 days in the San Esteban gold and copper mine in Copiapo, 800 km north of Santiago. Chile's trapped miners say they are enduring "hell" underground, putting urgency into a rescue operation that is about to start but could drag on for months before providing salvation. (MARTIN BERNETTI/AFP/Getty Images)

*

Workers operate the Xtrata 950 drill that is digging an escape hole from the top of a hill to where 33 miners are trapped underground in a copper and gold mine at Copiapo, some 725 km (450 miles) north of Santiago, September 2, 2010. The bid to rescue the miners, stuck in a hot and humid tunnel 2,300 feet (700 meters) underground for the past 28 days, is one of the world's most challenging and could take between two and four months. (REUTERS/Martin Mejia/Pool)

*

Men work on a new drill to be used in the rescue operation of miners at the San Jose mine in Copiapo, Chile, Thursday, Sept. 2, 2010. Thirty-three miners have been trapped deep underground in the copper and gold mine since it collapsed on Aug. 5. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia, Pool)

*

A worker prepares a tool to be used in the rescue operation of miners at the San Jose mine in Copiapo, Chile, Thursday, Sept. 2, 2010. Thirty-three miners have been trapped deep underground in the copper and gold mine since it collapsed on Aug. 5. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia, Pool)

*

Relatives of trapped miners hold images of the Virgin of Guadalupe during a mass outside the collapsed San Jose mine in Copiapo, Chile, Thursday Sept. 2, 2010. Thirty-three miners have been trapped deep underground in the copper and gold mine since it collapsed on Aug. 5. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

*

Relatives of trapped miners attend a mass given by Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz, the archbishop of Santiago, in honor of the 33 men trapped in Copiapo, some 725 km (450 miles) north of Santiago, September 2, 2010. The bid to rescue the miners, stuck in a hot and humid tunnel 2,300 feet (700 meters) underground for the past 28 days, is one of the world's most challenging and could take between two and four months. (REUTERS/Luis Hidalgo)

*

A workers listens as a spokesperson of the San Jose mine' workers union (out of frame) reads a statement from the workers of San Esteban Primera company, owner of the mine, to the authorities, about the accident that keeps trapped 33 miners inside the mine, in Copiapo, 800km north of Santiago on August 30, 2010. The 33 men were to finally hear the voices of their loved ones on August 22 in their first phone contact with relatives since they were discovered alive. To date, the only contact between relatives and the men, stuck 700 meters underground for 25 days, has been through notes and official intermediaries.  (ARIEL MARINKOVIC/AFP/Getty Images)

*

Rescuers install the hydraulic bore, an Australian-made Strata 950, that will dig down to the 33 miners who are holed up in a refuge annexed to a tunnel 700 metres below ground in the San Jose gold and copper mine in Copiapo, 800 km north of Santiago, on August 28, 2010. Chilean rescuers started drilling an escape shaft down to the trapped miners who showed the world through a video they were upbeat as they waited for salvation that will take months to arrive.  (ARIEL MARINKOVIC/AFP/Getty Images)

*

Relatives show a video recorded with a camera in a probe on August 26, 2010 of the miners still trapped inside the San Esteban company's San Jose gold and copper mine near Copiapo, 800 km north of Santiago, on August 26, 2010. Chilean television aired video footage of 33 trapped miners on Thursday, showing them in good spirits and explaining for the camera the organization of their below-ground rescue shelter. AFP PHOTO/HECTOR RETAMAL (Photo credit should read HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images)

*

A frame grab shows some of the 33 miners trapped underground in a copper and gold mine at Copiapo, about 725 km (450 miles) north of Santiago, September 1, 2010. Already deprived of sunlight, fresh air and their loved ones for 27 days, NASA doctors say the 33 miners trapped deep in a Chilean mine must continue to forego two other pleasures: alcohol and cigarettes. REUTERS/Chilean Government/Handout (CHILE - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS

*

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italie (AP) — Le pape Benoît XVI a déclaré dimanche prier constamment pour les 33 mineurs chiliens pris au piège sous terre dans le désert d'Atacama depuis le 5 août, les exhortant à garder calme et espoir, alors que les efforts en vue de leur libération se poursuivent.

 S'exprimant en espagnol, il a dit penser à eux et à leurs familles avec "une affection particulière". Il les a assurés "de ma proximité spirituelle et de mes prières continuelles, pour qu'ils restent sereins dans l'espoir d'une conclusion heureuse au travail qui est fait pour les secourir".

 Le pape s'exprimait devant les fidèles rassemblés pour la traditionnelle bénédiction dominicale, dans la cour de sa résidence d'été à Castel Gandolfo, au sud de Rome. 29/08/10 AP

> des chapelets bénis par Benoît XVI pour les 33 mineurs bloqués - la-Croix.com 

 photos : daylife