Monks have been forced to abandon their monastery for two tents after they were caught up in Italy's devastating earthquake last week.

The Benedictine community from Norcia, the birthplace of St Benedict, have moved out of their buildings, eight miles from the quake's epicentre. Although the town was not as badly damaged as nearby Amarice and Accumoli, the monastery and church are too dangerous to live in, according to the National Catholic Register.

One tent will serve as a dormitory and the other as a chapel as the monks prepare for a "huge rebuilding project" on their beloved buildings. The subprior Father Benedict Nivakoff hailed divine intervention after the monks had risen 15 minutes early for morning matins, meaning they could escape when the quake struck at 3.35am.

Although the town looks relatively untouched, the monk said their buildings had serious structural damage.

"The town is a lot worse off than it looks," said Father Nivakoff. The basilica has "lots of aesthetic damage to the baroque structure inside, the side altar is badly damaged, there's plaster damage."

He pointed out "bigger structural concerns: The dome has some serious cracks in it, the façade next to the roof has a lot of cracks, and there are signs that the building might not hold up."

"Candlesticks, crosses — everything — was tossed around or had fallen over," he said.

"Of course, we've seen worse, but one has the sense of a sort of war zone going on in there."

One local, Fabio, aged 48, said the town's relative escape was a miracle.

"Thanks is owed to God, for sure," he said. "For me, it's certainly a miracle for the town."

Pope Francis has promised to visit region "as soon as possible" and expressed his "spiritual closeness" to victims in an address at St Peter's square on Sunday.

"I want to tell these beloved people once again that the Church shares in their suffering and their concerns," he said.