For Healing and Peace

Pope Leo XIV expressed “his condolences” for the victims of an Air India flight bound for London with 242 people on board that crashed after takeoff in the Indian City of Ahmedabad, on Thursday, 12 June. In the telegram sent that day to the families and friends of those who lost their lives, the Holy Father said he was “deeply saddened by the tragedy”. In the message, signed by Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Pope assured “prayers for all involved in the recovery efforts. Commending the souls of the deceased to the mercy of the Almighty, His Holiness invokes upon all affected the divine blessings of healing and peace”.

On Tuesday, 24 June, Pope Leo XIV sent a telegram with his condolences for those who lost loved ones in a suicide bombing in a church in Damascus, Syria. In the message, also signed by the Vatican Secretary of State, the Pope expressed that he was “deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and destruction caused by the attack on the Greek Orthodox Church of Mar Elias in Damascus”. He expressed his wholehearted solidarity with everyone affected by this tragedy. In remembering those who were killed, the Pope commended “the souls of the deceased to the loving mercy of Our Heavenly Father”. He prayed “for those who mourn their loss, for the recovery of the injured”, and invoked “the Almighty’s gifts of consolation, healing and peace upon the nation”.