Drone Footage Reveals Birds-Eye View of the Staggering Devastation to Historic Basilica

— -- Drone footage has captured a birds-eye view of the staggering damage done to a beloved 14th-century basilica in central Italy following the 6.6-magnitude earthquake that struck the area on Sunday.

Only a skeleton of the historic Basilica of St. Benedict--which had stood in the center of Norcia, Italy, since the 14th century--was left standing following Sunday's tremor.

The spiritually significant site for the Catholic Church was built atop what is believed to be the historic birthplace of Saint Benedict, the Patron Saint of Europe.

Aerial footage from a drone reveals that the front facade of the church remains erect, but little else of the historic building remains.

Sunday's quake is believed to be the strongest to hit the country since a tremor that killed some 3,000 people in 1980. A 6.1-magnitude tremor also devastated the area on Aug. 24 of this year, killing nearly 300 people.

The Monks of Norcia, caretakers of the Basilica of St. Benedict, are still reeling from the damage to their church. The monks, an International Benedictine community, stated in a series of tweets that the basilica had been destroyed in the earthquake and that they were praying for those affected by the quake, as well as searching for those who may need their last rites. The monks started an online fund to raise money for rebuilding the cathedral.

ABC News' David Caplan contributed to this report