In a statement released by his spokesperson on Saturday, UN chief Antonio Guterres expressed his deepest condolences to the victims’ families “as well as the people and government of India,” according to UN news.

He also wished the injured a speedy and complete recovery.

“We are profoundly saddened by the tragic accident that occurred in Balasore, Odisha. The @UNinIndia family extends its deepest condolences to those who have lost dear ones. We hope the afflicted recover quickly. Our sympathies and prayers are with everyone impacted,” tweeted the United Nations in India.

Sunday, Pope Francis also expressed his condolences for the loss of life in the train disaster in Balasore, Odisha, in which 275 people were killed and over a thousand were injured. During the Sunday Angelus in Saint Peter’s Square, Pope Francis recalled the train accident victims.

“My prayers go out to the numerous victims of the railway accident that occurred in India two days ago (2 June). I extend my deepest condolences to the injured and their loved ones,” he said.

After the tragic triple train accident in the Balasore district of Odisha, condolences flooded in from all corners of the globe.

Saturday, French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his condolences for the loss of life in the train disaster in Balasore, Odisha, and expressed his thoughts for the victims’ families.

Macron stated that France is in support of India.

After the tragic railway accident in Odisha, I extend my deepest condolences to President Murmu, Prime Minister Modi, and the Indian people. France stands with you in solidarity. “My thoughts are with the victims’ families,” the French President tweeted.

Prime Minister of Japan Fumio Kishida stated that he is “saddened” by the loss of life in the Odisha railway accident and wished the injured a speedy recovery.

President Vladimir Putin of Russia also conveyed his condolences to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi following the train accident.

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According to railway officials, more than a thousand individuals were injured in the three-rail collision. On Friday evening, 17 coaches of the two trains derailed and were gravely damaged in an accident.

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The pontiff said he was “deeply saddened” by the “enormous loss of life” caused by the three-train collision in Odisha on Friday, India’s deadliest rail disaster in more than two decades.

Pope Francis condoles the loss of life in the #BalasoreTrainAccident

"My prayer go to the many victims of the train accident that occurred two days ago (June 2) in India. I express my closeness to the injured and their families. May the Heavenly Father welcome the souls of the… pic.twitter.com/DASj1HAlsv

— ANI (@ANI) June 4, 2023

“Entrusting the souls of the deceased to the loving mercy of the Almighty, (Pope Francis) sends heartfelt condolences to those who mourn their loss,” said senior Vatican cardinal Pietro Parolin in a telegram released by the Holy See.

The telegram was addressed to Leopoldo Girelli, the apostolic nuncio in India. It read, “His Holiness also prays for the many injured and the efforts of the emergency service personnel.”

A catastrophe occurred when a northbound express train to Kolkata derailed and fell onto the adjacent southbound track.

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Minutes later, a second express train collided with the debris, and some of its carriages collided with a nearby goods train.

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The 86-year-old pontiff, who had a portion of one lung removed as a young man, does not have COVID-19, according to a statement released late Wednesday by spokesman Matteo Bruni.

This was Francis’s first hospitalization since July 2021, when he spent 10 days at the Gemelli hospital having 33 centimeters (13 inches) of his colon removed.

It immediately raised concerns about Francis’ overall health and his capacity to participate in the busy Holy Week events beginning this Palm Sunday.

Francis, according to Bruni, has had difficulty breathing in recent days and went to the Gemelli hospital for examinations on Wednesday.”The tests revealed a respiratory infection (excluding COVID-19 infection) that will require several days of hospitalization,” Bruni said in his statement.

Francis appeared in relatively good health during his routinely scheduled general audience earlier on Wednesday, though he grimaced while entering the “popemobile.” He nevertheless rode around the square as usual, greeting the faithful and kissing babies.

Bruni stated that Francis, an Argentine Jesuit, was appreciative of the prayers and well-wishes, including from the Italian bishops’ conference.

At the beginning of an Oval Office meeting with President Alberto Fernández of Argentina, President Joe Biden told reporters he had just learned of Francis’s health issues and expressed concern for his “dear friend.”

As a young man, Francis had a portion of one lung removed due to a respiratory infection, and he frequently speaks in a murmur. However, he survived the worst phases of the COVID-19 pandemic without any public indication of ever testing positive.

Francis was slated to celebrate Palm Sunday this weekend, inaugurating the Vatican’s Holy Week observances: Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil, and Easter Sunday on April 9. He has canceled all engagements through Friday, but it was unclear whether he would be able to keep his arrangements for Holy Week.

Due to strained ligaments in his right knee and a minor knee fracture, Francis has used a wheelchair for over a year. He reported that the injury was healing and has been using a cane more frequently as of late.

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Francis has also stated that he resisted knee surgery because he did not respond well to general anesthesia during his intestinal surgery in 2021.

Soon after the surgery, he reported that he had fully recovered and could eat ordinarily. Francis told The Associated Press on January 24 that his diverticulosis, or bulges in the intestinal wall, had “returned.”

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Father Antonio Spadaro, a Jesuit priest who lives in Rome and goes to the meetings and writes about them afterward with the pope’s permission, said these things in an article for the La Stampa newspaper on Thursday.
On February 2 in Kinshasa, Pope Francis was asked about rumours in the media that he might step down.

He said again what he had said in December to a Spanish newspaper: that a few months after being elected in 2013, he gave a Vatican official a letter of resignation to be used if he ever got a serious illness that would leave him permanently unconscious and unable to make decisions.

“This doesn’t mean, though, that retiring popes should become, let’s say, a trend or an everyday thing,” he said.

“I think the job of the pope should be for life. I don’t see why it shouldn’t be this way…historical tradition is important. If we instead listened to rumours, we’d have to choose a new pope every six months “he said.

Pope Benedict resigned in 2013 because of his poor physical and mental health. He was the first pope to step down in 600 years.

He lived for almost 10 more years, and top aides say he was still clear-headed up until a few days before he died on December 31, 2018.
Benedict kept writing and had visitors, who sometimes told others what he said. This helped a group of conservative, nostalgic Catholics who didn’t like Francis being pope.

One of the most divisive times in modern Church history was when he was pope emeritus for almost 10 years. Francis often said that having Benedict live in the Vatican was like having a grandfather in the house. However, a book written by Benedict’s closest aide showed that there were problems when the two men in white lived in the small city-state.

Francis’s tone when talking to the African Jesuits was very different from what he had used in the past when talking about how popes, including himself, might step down.

Francis said that he had to slow down “or decide to step aside” when he got back from Canada last July. He said that his age and health problems, such as a knee problem that forces him to use a cane and a wheelchair, made him realise that he had to do this. In August, he said that popes who step down show humility.

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Francis said in 2014 that Benedict’s resignation the year before shouldn’t be seen as “a unique case” and that by stepping down, Benedict had become “an institution who opened a door, the door of emeritus popes.”

Francis told the African Jesuits this month that his own resignation because of his health “is not on my agenda right now.”

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