"Spiritual nearness" and "condolence" for the victims "of the tragic accident happened near Grenoble, in which a group of believers back from a pilgrimage to the Marian sanctuaries of Europe lost their lives". Those were the sentiments which Benedict XVI expressed in a telegram today, signed by the secretary of State, Card. Tarcisio Bertone, and sent to Msgr. Zygmunt Kaminski, metropolitan archbishop of the Polish diocese of Szczecin-Kamien. "The route of the pilgrims it is written in the telegram was interrupted on their way back from La Salette in a dramatic way. For many of them, it was the end of their earthly pilgrimage. We are consoled by trust for Divine Mercy, inducing us to believe they found their destination in the glory of our eternal Father. Be the words of Apostle St. Paul the source of consolation and hope: We believe… that Jesus died and resuscitated; thus, God will gather the dead, too, by means of Jesus, together with him". "The Holy Father it is further written implores the gift of eternal life for all the dead, in the joy of union with Christ. He wishes the wounded to recover their health promptly and completely. For the families of the victims of the tragic accident, he invokes the gifts of courage and consolation in grief, too, and for this reason, he heartily gives his apostolic blessing".
