|PIC1|Renowned U.S. evangelist Billy Graham, who has taken the gospel to some of the world’s most underprivileged countries, said Thursday he was left speechless by the scope of devastation he witnessed as he toured hurricane-torn New Orleans.

Graham is in the city this weekend for the long-awaited Celebration of Hope event organised by local ministers and his son Franklin Graham, now head of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

Following a tour of the areas worst affected by Hurricane Katrina, Graham said in an interview with The Associated Press: “I cannot imagine what those people have been through.

“This is a far greater disaster than the average American understands.”

A word of encouragement to those in the Gulf States will also come from the 87-year-old evangelist in a sermon to be preached, health permitting, by Graham on Sunday, his first public sermon since his final revival meeting in New York City last June.

Graham will join in the event led by Franklin Graham who is now headed to the New Orleans Arena, still fresh from his first major festival in Asia, where thousands of the Katrina-affected population will attend the Celebration of Hope on Mar. 11-12.

|QUOTE|Billy Graham’s book “The Journey” was released last week, the latest offering from a man who has preached to more than 210 million people across 185 countries, and has counselled generations of US presidents and world leaders.

"I'm 87 years old now, and I feel every day of it sometimes. Other times, I feel like a young man again," he said before addressing about 800 pastors and family members gathered at a New Orleans church.

He continued with words of encouragement, likening the situation facing New Orleans to that faced by the Old Testament figure Job, who still loved God even when he lost all he had and who was later given back more than he lost by God.

|AD| "God restored him, and God is going to do that for you. I believe that," Graham said.

Graham said a disaster like Hurricane Katrina was a mystery but assured that God did not cause the hurricane.

In answer to the question of why the storm struck, he said: “I’ll tell you the truth: I don’t know. I don’t know anybody who does know.”

In the interview with AP, Graham said New Orleans has a foundation on which to build a spiritual revival, commenting on the long history of the Roman Catholic Church in the city as well as the more recent work of Protestant denominations.

“There’s a foundation to build on here, I think. That’s encouraging to me,” he said.

Graham said last Sunday that he hoped to bring a simple message to the hurricane-ravaged city: “I just want people to know they’re loved and they’re prayed for.”

Graham’s tour with his son included a visit to see the devastation of St. Bernard Parish, Thursday, where they prayed with local pastors. The pair also spent Friday meeting with some beneficiaries of the US$38 million in aid that Samaritan’s Purse raised for churches and people in the region.