NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      RIO DE JANEIRO (CWNews.com) - Brazilian Catholics on Wednesday mourned the death of more than 50 pilgrims who died in a bus crash while returning from the shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida, the patron saint of Brazil, on Tuesday.

      The death toll rose to 53 on Wednesday, while 11 people remained in the hospital including one woman who was in grave condition with burns over 90 percent of her body. The two buses carrying nearly 100 people from the same village lost control as a diesel truck driving in front of them crashed and burned. The flames were then fed by a second truck carrying grain alcohol also crashed and began to burn.

      Twenty nine survivors returned on Wednesday to their homes in Anapolis, as the people in their Alexandrinha neighborhood, where most of the victims lived, hung black banners and prepared funerals. The mayor said a funeral Mass would be held for all of the victims on Thursday.