Air India Crash

Statement from Bishop Bosco MacDonald on the Air India Crash

It is with great sorrow that I learned of the devastating crash involving Air India flight AI218 earlier today. The loss of life, the fear and anguish experienced by survivors, and the uncertainty facing families who still await news of their loved ones weigh heavily on us all.

In a special way, my heart and prayers go out to the families in our own diocese who have been affected. The news that three members of the Gloucester community - Akeel Nanabawa, his wife Hannaa, and their daughter Sara - are believed to have been on board brings this global tragedy very close to home. I join the Gloucester Muslim Society in their grief and in offering our deepest condolences to all who mourn.

In this moment of pain, we turn to the God who is close to the broken-hearted. Whether in Gloucester or elsewhere, every life lost or forever changed by this tragedy matters to God - and to us. May the families of all the victims be comforted with compassion, surrounded by solidarity, and upheld in prayer by people of every faith and goodwill.

I ask the Catholic communities across the Diocese of Clifton to pray this weekend for all those who have died, those who are injured, and for the many families - especially in Gloucester - left in shock and sorrow. May the light of Christ shine in this time of darkness.

+Bosco

Rt Rev Bosco MacDonald

Bishop of Clifton