Vatican City (Vatican), Aug 2 (LaPresse) – Pope Leo XIV "has learned with deep sorrow the news of the sudden passing of the eighteen-year-old Pascale Rafic, who was traveling to Rome from Egypt to participate in the Youth Jubilee." This was stated in a communiqué from the Holy See Press Office. "Pope Leo XIV," the text continues, "has contacted His Excellency Monsignor Jean-Marie Chami, Titular Bishop of Tarsus and Auxiliary of the Greek-Melkite Patriarchal Church of Antioch for Egypt, Sudan, and South Sudan, to express His spiritual closeness to the young woman’s family and the entire community. Later this morning, he will meet in the Vatican with the group of pilgrims who were traveling companions of young Pascale. The meeting, marked by deep emotion, will be an occasion for prayer and spiritual comfort for the youth, still shaken by this painful event. In sharing the grief of those affected by this tragic episode, the Holy Father assures prayers for the deceased and invokes from the Lord comfort and consolation for the family, friends, and all who mourn her loss."
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