Pope prays for victims of Nice terrorist attack

July 18, 2016

Stating that “the pain of the massacre is alive in our hearts,” Pope Francis prayed for the victims of the Nice terrorist attack following his Angelus address on July 17.

The attack claimed “so many innocent lives, even so many children,” the Pope said to the crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square. “I am close to each family and the entire French nation which is in mourning.”

“May God, the good Father, welcome all the victims into his peace, support the injured, and comfort their families,” he continued. “May he dissolve every project of terror and death, so that man no longer attempts to spill his brother’s blood.”

The Pope asked the crowd to pray in silence for the victims and their families, before leading the recitation of the Hail Mary.

Earlier, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, sent a telegram of condolence in the Pope’s name to the bishop of Nice:

As France was celebrating her national holiday, the country was again struck by blind violence, this time in Nice, claiming many victims, including children.

Once again condemning such acts, His Holiness Pope Francis expresses his profound sadness and his spiritual closeness to the French people. He entrusts to the mercy of God those who have lost their life, and joins fully in the suffering of the families afflicted. He expresses his sympathy with the injured, as well as with all those who involved in the rescue efforts, and asks that the Lord support all of them in their grief. Imploring of God the gift of peace and harmony, he invokes divine blessings upon the mourning families and all France.

 

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Further information:

• Angelus Domini 2016.07.17 (YouTube Vatican)
• Angelus: Pope Francis prays for Nice victims (Vatican Radio)
• Il cordoglio del Santo Padre per le vittime dell’attentato avvenuto a Nizza (Francia) (Holy See Press Office)
• Pope Francis' profound sorrow and condemnation of the attack in Nice (Holy See Press Office)
• 2016 Nice attack (Wikipedia)
• Le parole del Papa alla recita dell’Angelus (Holy See Press Office)