Vatican, 24 November, 2023 / 8:55 pm (ACI Africa).
Pope Francis has expressed his “spiritual closeness” with those affected by the Monday, November 20 stadium stampede in Congo-Brazzaville that reportedly resulted in the death of at least 37 people and dozens others injured.
In a Tuesday, November 21 Reuters report, the stampede occurred at Ornano stadium in the Republic of Congo’s capital city, Brazzaville, on the night of November 20 as the young men struggled to submit their applications during an army recruitment drive.
In his Friday, November 24 telegram message addressed to the President of the Episcopal Conference of Congo, Archbishop Bienvenu Manamika Bafouakouahou of the Catholic Archdiocese of Brazzaville on behalf of the Holy Father, the Vatican Secretary of State shares the Holy Father’s reaction to the tragedy.
“Learning with sorrow of the tragic accident that occurred at the Ornano stadium during an army recruitment operation, his Holiness Pope Francis has charged me with assuring the families and loved ones of the deceased of his spiritual closeness,” Pietro Cardinal Parolin says.
Pope Francis, Cardinal Parolin adds, “asks the most high to grant eternal happiness to those who have passed away and to support the families in grief and sorrow, inviting everyone to great fraternal and spiritual solidarity with all those who are in distress.”
