Polish pilgrims returning from Medjugorje were killed when their bus crashed in Hungary on Aug. 16 – twelve dead and 10 seriously injured.
By Bohumil Petrík
Polish pilgrims from Medjugorje died when their bus crashed in Hungary on Aug. 16 – twelve killed and 10 seriously injured. They were returning from a pilgrimage to the Marian shrine at Medjugorje in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Others among the roughly 60 people on board suffered minor injuries, and an investigation into the crash has been launched.
The tragedy prompted immediate reactions from public figures, including condolences from Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar and his Polish counterpart, Donald Tusk. The Polish prime minister sent a special aircraft to Hungary carrying representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and medical services to assist those affected. Polish President Karol Nawrocki said he was praying for “the families and loved ones of the victims.”
The heads of both the Polish and the Hungarian bishops’ conferences also responded to the accident.
The Diocese of Gdańsk has asked parishes across Poland to pray for the victims, their families, and all those injured in the crash.
Polish Pilgrims Medjugorje: Bishops Respond
Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda of Gdańsk, president of the Polish Bishops’ Conference, received the news “with great sadness” and prayed “for eternal life for the tragically deceased victims of the accident and for the recovery of the injured.”
Wojda extended prayers “to the families of those who died and those injured,” asking “God to grant them relief from their pain, as well as the strength and hope that will help them survive these extremely difficult times.”
Hungarian Bishops Express Solidarity with Polish Pilgrims
Bishop János Székely of Szombathely, president of the Hungarian Catholic Bishops’ Conference, expressed solidarity with the Polish victims who died while passing through his country.
“I was deeply moved to learn of the tragic bus accident,” he said, and prayed “for the eternal salvation of those who lost their lives.”
Székely asked “the Almighty to grant comfort to the families of the deceased in these difficult hours and to help the injured recover as quickly as possible.”
On behalf of the entire Catholic community in Hungary, the bishop assured “our Polish brothers of compassion and solidarity.”
The Medjugorje Pilgrimage Bus Crash
The bus carrying the Polish pilgrims overturned in the early hours of Sunday and went off the road into a ditch on the M3 motorway in eastern Hungary. Some media have reported that the driver may have fallen asleep and that he has been taken into custody.
Medjugorje is one of the most visited Catholic pilgrimage sites in the world, attracting millions of visitors each year. Polish Catholics have a particularly strong devotion to the site, with thousands making the journey annually. The M3 motorway where the crash occurred connects Budapest with eastern Hungary and is a major transit route for coaches travelling from Bosnia and Herzegovina through Hungary toward Poland. Pilgrimage coach travel across central Europe is common, particularly during the summer months when Marian shrines such as Medjugorje draw the largest numbers of visitors. Authorities are continuing to investigate the circumstances of the crash, including whether driver fatigue played a role.
Poland has one of the highest rates of Catholic pilgrimage participation in Europe. Each summer, tens of thousands of Polish Catholics travel to Marian shrines across Europe, with Medjugorje among the most popular destinations. The crash has prompted calls in Poland for stricter safety regulations governing long-distance pilgrimage coach travel.
This article was first published by EWTN News and has been adapted and republished to EWTN Australia.
