.- Pope Benedict XVI expressed his sorrow this week and offered prayers for the victims of the bus accident in France, which took the lives of 27 Poles who were returning from pilgrimages to various Marian shrines in Europe.
Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, sent the telegram in the name of the Pope to Archbishop Zygmunt Kaminski of Szczecin-Kamien.
“The pilgrims' route was interrupted in a dramatic way on the way back from La Salette, becoming the end of the earthly pilgrimage for some,” the telegram indicated. "We are comforted by our faith in Divine Mercy, which calls us to believe that they have found their place in the glory of the Eternal Father."
For the dead, the Pope implored "the gift of eternal life in the glory of the union with Christ," and assured his prayers that the injured would be restored to health.
The Holy Father "invokes the gift of courage and consolation in this time of sorrow" upon the families of the dead and injured, the telegram read.
