--- description: The Pope "prays for peace" for those killed in the French Alps crash title: Read Pope Francis' Message to the French Alps Crash Victims' Families image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf5ada3d5946d74cf/69878524428a9ed3e2cc7ce8/pope-francis-germanwings.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Vatican](/tag/vatican/) ## Vatican Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Read Pope Francis' Message to the French Alps Crash Victims' Families  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 25, 2015 1:09 PM CUT  Pope Francis speaks during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, March 25, 2015. Pope Francis speaks during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, March 25, 2015.Andrew Medichini—AP  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 25, 2015 1:09 PM CUT Pope Francis wants to give [“strength and consolation”](http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/03/25/pope%5Ffrancis%5Fsends%5Fcondolences%5Fto%5Ffamilies%5Fof%5Fcrash%5Fvictims/1131913 "undefined") to the families of the victims of Tuesday’s[ deadly Germanwings plane crash](http://time.com/3757712/germanwings-plane-crash-victims-identified/ "undefined") in the French Alps. “He expresses his deep sympathy for all those touched by this tragedy, as well as for the rescue workers working in difficult conditions,” reads a Tuesday telegram from Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin. A memorial mass for all the victims was also held on Tuesday. A hundred and fifty people “including many children,” the telegram notes, appear to have been killed when a Germanwings A320 Airbus crashed in a snowy region of the French Alps. More than a dozen passengers were German school children returning from an exchange-program trip in Spain. The full statement, [via Vatican Radio](http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/03/25/pope%5Ffrancis%5Fsends%5Fcondolences%5Fto%5Ffamilies%5Fof%5Fcrash%5Fvictims/1131913 "undefined"), reads: --- > “” --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3757742/germanwings-crash-pope-francis/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3757742/germanwings-crash-pope-francis/"},"headline":"Read Pope Francis' Message to the French Alps Crash Victims' Families","datePublished":"2015-03-25T13:09:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T05:25:17.941Z","description":"The Pope \"prays for peace\" for those killed on the Germanwings flight","url":"https://time.com/3757742/germanwings-crash-pope-francis/","keywords":["Vatican","Pope Francis topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf5ada3d5946d74cf/69878524428a9ed3e2cc7ce8/pope-francis-germanwings.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nolan Feeney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf5ada3d5946d74cf/69878524428a9ed3e2cc7ce8/pope-francis-germanwings.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Vatican Pope","caption":"Pope Francis speaks during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, March 25, 2015.","creditText":"Andrew Medichini—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/vatican/","name":"Vatican"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3757742/germanwings-crash-pope-francis/","name":"Read Pope Francis' Message to the French Alps Crash Victims' Families"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Know Right Now: Germanwings Pilot Practiced Plane Crash","description":"A Germanwings plane crashes in the French Alps.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/A0rqqmZ7/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-03-24T15:57:28.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/A0rqqmZ7.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3757742/germanwings-crash-pope-francis/","duration":"PT1M1S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3757742/germanwings-crash-pope-francis/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```