Popes Prayers for a Devastated Southern France

(19 Jun 10 – RV) On Saturday Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone sent a telegram on behalf of Pope Benedict XVI to the President of the French Bishops’ Conference, Cardinal Vingt-Trois. In the telegram the Cardinal expresses the Pope’s pain at the loss of life and devastation in Southern France in the wake of last week’s storms.

The telegram states: “Aware of the severe weather that hit the Southeast and other regions of France, causing numerous casualties and extensive damage, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI sends his condolences to the bereaved and deepest sympathy to the people affected by this tragedy. He asks the Lord to welcome the deceased into His Kingdom of light, hoping that genuine solidarity will enable people affected by the floods to find brotherly support and assistance.
In these difficult circumstances the Holy Father asks God to encourage and comfort the entire population of these regions, with the abundance of his blessings”.

Flash floods caused by torrential rain killed 19 people and left seven missing near France's Mediterranean coast, after the worst downpours the region has seen since 1827.