Pope prays for Lampedusa victims and for peace in Middle East
October 09, 2013
At the conclusion of his regular weekly audience on October 9, Pope Francis expressed his solidarity with the bishops of Eritrea and Ethiopia, who are mourning the victims of tragedy at Lampedusa.
Most of the migrants who perished in an accident off the Italian island last week were from the two African countries, and many were Eastern-rite Catholics. The Pope assured the bishops of the Alexandrian rite that he was united with them “in pray and suffering for the many sons of their land who lost their lives.”
The Pope also asked the 60,000 people who attended his weekly audience to pray for peace in the Middle East. He reminded them that 3 years ago, on October 10, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI, on a visit to Lebanon, had issued an appeal to all the faithful “to show to all Christians in the Middle East the closeness of the Catholic Church to its eastern sons.”
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