From Aleteia:
In a telegram made public on August 18, 2026, Pope Leo XIV expressed his closeness to the victims of a bus crash. The vehicle was carrying Polish pilgrims returning from the shrine of Medjugorje. The accident occurred overnight between August 15 and 16 in Hungary. This tragedy caused 12 deaths and left 10 people in critical condition.
The Polish-language telegram was published on the official Vatican News website. It was addressed to Archbishop Adam Szal of Przemyśl and Bishop Jan Wątroba of Rzeszów, the heads of the two dioceses where the passengers lived. The Pope said he learned “with deep sorrow” the news of this “tragic road accident,” in which some pilgrims died and others were “seriously injured.”
Pope Leo XIV assures all those affected by the tragedy of his “spiritual proximity.” The Pontiff notes that he is offering “particular prayers” for the victims. He entrusts to God’s mercy the pilgrims who, “returning from a pilgrimage of faith, have completed their earthly pilgrimage.”
A gift of consolation
The Holy Father also prays for the victims’ families. He asks the Lord to grant them “the gift of consolation” as they grieve. Through the intercession of Our Lady of Częstochowa, Pope Leo XIV “entrusts them all to God.” He grants them his apostolic blessing, which he offers as a “sign of paternal proximity and Christian hope.”
The accident occurred overnight on the M3 motorway in Hungary, after the bus drove off the road. An investigation is currently underway to determine the circumstances and causes of the tragedy, which claimed at least 12 lives.
Painful context
On July 22, 2007, 26 Polish pilgrims died and 24 others were injured in a bus crash near the shrine of Our Lady of La Salette in the Isère region of southeastern France. This disaster had a significant impact in both France and Poland. The respective presidents at the time, Nicolas Sarkozy and Lech Kaczyński, immediately visited the site.
This new tragedy occurs within a painful context regarding the connection between Medjugorje and Poland. On July 28, 2026, a 31-year-old Polish national was arrested and placed in pre-trial detention after committing serious acts of vandalism and starting a fire at the Marian shrine in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The man, who suffers from psychiatric disorders, was a regular visitor to the shrine. He had previously testified about overcoming his drug addiction in evangelization videos.