“I offer assurance of my prayers”: Pope Leo XIV Expresses Spiritual Solidarity with Victims of Deadly Stampede in CAR

CAR’s Minister of National Education, Aurélien Simplice Zingas, provided details about the June 25 tragic incident. He said, “Following a technical breakdown, a team from Enerca (Central African Energy Company) intervened to carry out repair work. The restoration of electricity then caused an explosion in the electricity transformer located on the ground floor of the main building.”

The explosion, the minister said, “triggered a panic and caused several serious injuries, unfortunately resulting in some cases of loss of life.”

Meanwhile, in his June 29 address, Pope Leo XIV acknowledged the presence of the “numerous Eritrean faithful living in Europe,” along with the pilgrims from various countries who accompanied their Metropolitan Archbishops for the reception of the Pallium.

He said, “I greet the faithful from various countries who have accompanied their Metropolitan Archbishops who received the Pallium today... as well as numerous Eritrean faithful living in Europe.”

Earlier June 29, during Holy Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica, the Holy Father had bestowed the pallium on 54 new Metropolitan Archbishops from across the globe, including Stephen Cardinal Brislin of the Catholic Archdiocese of Johannesburg in South Africa.

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In a video recording that the Communication Office of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) published ahead of the June 29 conferment of the Pallium, Cardinal Brislin reflected on the significance of the Pallium, saying, “It represents the communion between the Metropolitan Archbishops and the Holy Father.”

He said, “Its significance lies simply in the unity in pastoral ministry between the Holy Father, who is our chief shepherd, and the Metropolitan Archbishops, who have a particular responsibility for their Metropolitan areas.”

“Please say a prayer for us all on the 29th of June as we receive the Pallium,” Cardinal Brislin implored in the message SACBC published on June 28.

The 68-year-old South African Cardinal, who began his Episcopal ministry in the Catholic Diocese of Kroonstad in January 2007, was appointed Archbishop of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Cape Town in December 2009 and elevated to cardinal in September 2023.

He has been at the helm of Johannesburg Metropolitan See from January 2025 following his transfer from the Archdiocese of Cape Town in October 2024.