SW News: Pope Francis, during his Sunday Angelus, sought Mary's intercession for the victims and “relatives” of Polish pilgrims who died in a bus accident on Saturday, August 6, in Croatia.

The bus carrying 44 pilgrims to Medjugorje, the place known for alleged Marian apparitions, veered off the road and ended up in a ditch where 12 people succumbed to injuries. As many as 32 people were injured and among them, 19 were severely wounded, according to the BBC. The accident took place when the bus was traveling between Varazdin, in northwest Croatia, and the capital Zagreb.

“I sadly learned of the automotive accident that happened yesterday morning in Croatia,” the Pope said. “Some pilgrims going to Medjugorje lost their lives and others were wounded,” he continued.

The pilgrimage to Medjugorje conducted by the Brotherhood of St Joseph Catholic group included three priests and six nuns among the passengers, Reuters reported.

Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki, the President of the Poland Episcopate, exhorted the faithful to pray during Sunday Holy Mass for the victims of the accident.