SW News: Fr Grzegorz Radziszewski SDB, a Salesian priest serving in St Jan Bosko parish, in Sokołów Podlaski town, Poland, has been confirmed as one of the 12 victims who died in the tragic bus accident that took place on August 6, in Croatia.


The accident took place when a 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.


The death of the priest was confirmed by Fr Artur Sulik, Provincial Secretary of the Salesians in Warsaw in a press release. “May God show him His Mercy and accept him to the joy of Heaven," he said in the press release.


Pope Francis, during his Sunday Angelus, had sought Mary's intercession for the victims and “relatives” of the Polish pilgrims. “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.