The pope has offered prayers for the families of victims in the horrific New Year’s Eve fire which has killed at least 40 people and injured more than 100 in Switzerland.
Leo XIV said his ‘compassion and solidarity’ was with ‘the loved ones of the victims’ of the blaze which ripped through the crowded Le Constellation bar at the ski resort of Crans-Montana.
Swiss investigators said in an update this afternoon they believe the deadly blaze was ignited by sparklers in Champagne bottles being held too close to the ceiling.
They told reporters their main objective is identifying the 40 victims so that their families can grieve.
The fire also injured 119 other revellers, many in their teens to mid-20s, who have been taken to hospitals all over the country.
Late Thursday, mourners left candles and flowers in an impromptu memorial near the bar. Hundreds of others prayed for the victims at the nearby Church of Montana-Station.
Pope Leo sent a telegram on Friday to the bishop of Sion to express his condolences.
The message, sent on his behalf and signed by the Vatican’s secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said: ‘His holiness Pope Leo XIV joins in the mourning of the families and of the entire Swiss confederation.
‘He wishes to express to the relatives of the victims his compassion and solicitude.’
‘He prays to the Lord to welcome the deceased into his dwelling place of peace and light.’
On Instagram, an account filled up with photos of people who remained unaccounted for, with their friends and relatives begging for tips about the whereabouts of the missing.
Emanuele Galeppini, a promising 17-year-old Italian golfer who competed internationally, is officially listed as one of Italy’s missing nationals.
His uncle Sebastiano Galeppini told Italian news agency ANSA that their family is awaiting the DNA checks, though the Italian Golf Federation on its website announced that he had died.
Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said 13 Italian citizens were injured and six remained missing by midday Friday.
Galeppini’s name was on the missing persons list.
Pope Leo opened 2026 yesterday with a plea for peace, singling out in particular countries ‘bloodied by conflict’ and families wounded by violence.
Hecelebrated a New Year’s Day Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica and then delivered a special noontime prayer from his studio overlooking the piazza, which was full of pilgrims and tourists on the bright, chilly day.
After a busy Christmas season, Leo has a few days of rest before he celebrates the church’s Epiphany holiday on January 6.
On that day too, he officially closes out the 2025 Holy Year, the once-every-quarter-century celebration that brought millions of pilgrims to Rome.
Immediately thereafter, he is to preside over a two-day meeting of the entire College of Cardinals, the princes of the church who elected him pope, as well as those who are over age 80 and didn’t participate in the conclave but still remain part of the college.
Leo is resurrecting a tradition largely eschewed by Pope Francis to convene cardinals every so often to seek their counsel on how to govern the 1.4 billion-strong Catholic Church.
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