Skip to content

Pope Francis sends message to families of victims in Germanwings' French Alps crash, as black box and cockpit recorder recovered

Free World Class Education
FREE Catholic Classes
The recovered black box and recorder will provide key information on what really happened on that plane.

150 people were killed in the tragic Germanwings A320 Airbus crash in the snowy French Alps earlier this week. Pope Francis has come forward with some words of comfort for all those involved in the horrific accident.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Pope Francis wishes to give "strength and consolation" to all the family members of the victims.

The Airbus held 150 people, "including many children," according to a telegram from Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin. More than a dozen passengers were German school children returning home from an exchange student program in Spain, according to TIME.

Earlier reports reveal two unnamed Americans were on board, as well as two babies.

Join Pope Francis in praying for the families of the victims --

"He [Pope Francis] expresses his deep sympathy for all those touched by this tragedy, as well as for the rescue workers working in difficult conditions," states the telegram. "He prays for peace for the deceased, entrusting them to the mercy of God that He might welcome them into His dwelling place of peace and light."

One of airplane's "black boxes" were recovered and investigators in France are examining it with hopes of learning exactly what brought that plane down.

The cockpit voice recorder from the plane has also been recovered, but is severely damaged. However, it has been noted the recorder may still be useable, after it is reconstituted.

This recorder will provide key information and vital clues about the condition of the pilots during the final minutes.

The airplane was less than an hour away from finishing its flight to Dusseldorf from Barcelona when it unexpectedly plummeted to the ground, dropping 14,000 feet in six minutes and losing contact with air traffic controllers, according to Fox News.

"If there's a loss of control, pilots usually lose their way too," Roger Rousseau told the Journal. "That didn't happen in this case."

"We cannot say at the moment why our colleague went into the descent, and so quickly, and without previously consulting air traffic control," Germanwings' director of flight operations, Stefan-Kenan Scheib, said Tuesday.

Emergency workers are continuing the grim search for bodies and other helpful elements to the investigation.

Here's the full statement from the Vatican telegram via Vatican Radio:

"Having learned of the tragic plane crash in the region of Digne, which caused many casualties, including many children, His Holiness Pope Francis joins in the grief of the families, expressing his closeness to them in sorrow. He prays for peace for the deceased, entrusting them to the mercy of God that He might welcome them into His dwelling place of peace and light. He expresses his deep sympathy for all those touched by this tragedy, as well as for the rescue workers working in difficult conditions. The Holy Father asks the Lord to give strength and consolation to all, and, as a comfort, he invokes upon them the abundance of divine Blessings."

---


'Help Give every Student and Teacher FREE resources for a world-class Moral Catholic Education'


Copyright 2021 - Distributed by Catholic Online

Deacon Keith Fournier Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you. Help Now >

Join the Movement
When you sign up below, you don't just join an email list - you're joining an entire movement for Free world class Catholic education.

Prayer of the Day logo
Saint of the Day logo

We ask you, humbly: don't scroll away.

Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you.

Help Now >

Catholic Online Logo

Copyright 2024 Catholic Online. All materials contained on this site, whether written, audible or visual are the exclusive property of Catholic Online and are protected under U.S. and International copyright laws, © Copyright 2024 Catholic Online. Any unauthorized use, without prior written consent of Catholic Online is strictly forbidden and prohibited.

Catholic Online is a Project of Your Catholic Voice Foundation, a Not-for-Profit Corporation. Your Catholic Voice Foundation has been granted a recognition of tax exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Federal Tax Identification Number: 81-0596847. Your gift is tax-deductible as allowed by law.