Pope’s condolence for Switzerland school bus crash victims

(March 16, 2012) Pope Benedict XVI has expressed his condolence for the victims of a school bus accident in Switzerland, in which 22 Belgian children and 6 Dutch lost their lives. The bus carrying a Belgian school group of 52 back home from a ski trip crashed into the wall of a Swiss tunnel in Sierre. Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone sent a condolence message on the behalf of Pope Benedict to Archbishop Andre-Mutien Leonard of Mechelen-Brussels, Belgium, expressing the Holy Father’s closeness in prayer with the suffering of the mourning families, entrusting the victims to God’s mercy. The Pope conveyed his profound sympathy to the injured and their families, and also expressed his closeness to rescue workers, praying to the Lord to give them help and consolation in their moment of trial. Twenty-four passengers of the fatal bus remained in hospital in Switzerland, including 3 children with critical injuries. Belgium on Friday marked a day of national mourning for the victims who were from the towns of Heverlee and Lommel.