Pope Francis this Sunday asked for prayers for the “numerous victims” of the train crash in India, which left nearly 300 dead and more than 1,000 injured.
Speaking after the celebration of the Angelus, the Catholic Church leader said he offered his “prayers to the numerous victims of the railway accident that happened in India two days ago,” asking that the “Heavenly Father bless the souls of the dead in his kingdom”.
Francis also asked for support for the families of the victims.
Before the approximately 20,000 faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square this Sunday, the pope also asked for people facing “the scourge of war”, leaving a special word for the “beloved and tormented Ukraine”.
On Saturday, the leader of the Catholic Church had already expressed his “deep sadness” in a statement over the train accident that took place on Friday in India, a country he plans to visit next year.
The accident happened at 7:20 p.m. local time (1:50 p.m. Lisbon) near a railway station in Bahanaga town, Odisha state, 1,000 miles northeast of the capital New Delhi.
Ten to 12 carriages of a train derailed and the wreckage of some of the carriages fell onto a nearby track, Indian Railways spokesman Amitabh Sharma said. This wreckage, the official added, was hit by another passenger train traveling from the opposite direction. A third freight train was also involved in the accident.
Source: DN
