FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Rev. Christopher Pollard212-370-7885 Ext. 30cpollard@holyseemission.orgNew York, NY, Feb. 23 – Pope Benedict has sent a telegram of condolence to the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Maria Cardinal Bergoglio, following a train crash in the city yesterday which killed 50 people and injured more than 675 people. The telegram, signed by Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone, expressed the Holy Father’s sorrow.The Spanish missive conveyed that “the Holy Father Benedict XVI, deeply grieved to learn of the sad news of the train accident which occurred at the Once station in Buenos Aires, resulting in numerous victims, offers fervent prayers to the Almighty for the repose of the dead.”Cardinal Bertone asked the Argentine Prelate to transmit Pope Benedict’s condolences to the families mourning the loss of loved ones, along with His Holiness’ expressions of affection, solidarity and comfort to all the injured and everyone affected by the tragic event.He added that “as a sign of hope in the risen Lord, the Successor of Peter imparts, in this time of sadness, a special Apostolic Blessing.” The Cardinal Secretary of State united his own condolences to those of the Supreme Pontiff and affirmed his fraternal esteem for the Cardinal Archbishop of Buenos Aires.For more information about the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations,please visit www.holyseemission.org, which contains also links to the Holy See Press Office.###