A tornado in southeastern Canada, a tornado in a small Michigan town: two natural disasters that resulted in many casualties and destruction. Pope Francis, through Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, expressed sympathy and solidarity to those affected, as announced this Wednesday.

According to a telegram signed by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin to President Raymond Poisson of the Episcopal Conference of Canada, the Pope prays for all those affected by the disaster and those who are spiritually close to him. Francis prayed for “strength and consolation” for all the victims, for the bishops of the affected areas and for the civil authorities.

Pope expressed grief “at the tragic loss and destruction of life” in relation to tornadoes that hit the Gaylord community in the US state of Michigan in recent days. According to a telegram to local bishop Jeffrey J. Walsh, Francis prays for the dead, the wounded, the homeless and those who help.

devastating storm

In Canada, the country’s most populous provinces of Ontario and Quebec were affected, where a two-hour storm on Saturday afternoon, with winds of more than 130 km/h, killed at least eight people.

A similar scenario was presented in the small town of Gaylord in northern Michigan, which was devastated by a tornado. There, the storm killed one person and injured more than 40 people as it broke the roofs of buildings and downed trees and power lines.

(Vatican News – Mr.)