Scottish Catholic Observer

The Scots Italian community is in a state of mourning following reports that a total of 38 people (as the SCO went to press) were killed when a bus carrying pilgrims back from the shrine of Padre Pio plunged off an overpass in southern Italy on Sunday night.

Many of the victims are thought to be children, with 11 passengers seriously injured in what is one of the worst road accidents in Italy’s history.

Rescuers worked in darkness to pull survivors, including at least three children, from the wreckage of the bus under a viaduct in Monteforte Irpino in the Campania region, between Naples and Bari.

A statement from the Vatican said ‘the Holy Father shares the profound pain that has struck the Campania region, while ensuring his fervent prayers for the many victims.’ In Scotland, Archbishop Philip Tartaglia of Glasgow, whose family comes from nearby southern Lazio, led the expressions of grief.

“This is a terrible tragedy,” the president of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland said. “The coach group had been to the land of Padre Pio at Pietrelcina as part of their tour. My thoughts and prayers are with all those affected. Coming just days after the terrible rail crash in Spain close to the shrine of St James, our hearts can only go out to all those in both countries whose lives have been lost in such unforeseeable and tragic circumstances.”

Ronnie Convery, secretary of the CoCAIS, the co-ordinating committee for the Italian community in Scotland, said his community was ‘utterly shocked.’

“Every year the Scots Italian community gathers in November to pray for the dead and this year I am sure that all those lost in this accident will be remembered in a special way.”

The passengers were returning from a pilgrimage to Pietrelcina, the birthplace of Saint Pio, the Italian priest canonised in 2002 who is highly venerated in southern Italy. Eyewitness reports suggested the bus was travelling at a normal speed as it entered the flyover when a tire blew. The vehicle, carrying about 50 people, had been travelling at high speed when it crashed on a busy dual carriageway at what Italian media have described as an ‘accident black spot.’

A mass funeral was held on Tuesday near the town of Pozzuoli for the victims.

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—This story ran in full in the August 2 edition print of the SCO, available in parishes