Pope Francis prays during Mass at King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, Belgium, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024 / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

CNA Newsroom, Dec 21, 2024 / 15:34 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis on Saturday expressed his shock at the deadly attack at a Christmas market in eastern Germany that claimed five lives, including that of a child, and left more than 200 injured.

In a telegram sent to German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on behalf of the pontiff, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin conveyed the Holy Father’s “spiritual closeness” to all those affected by the tragedy.

The pope “prays for the deceased and entrusts the people to Christ, our hope, whose light may shine in the darkness,” the cardinal wrote, expressing gratitude to emergency responders helping victims in “this difficult moment.”

According to officials, the attack left 205 victims in total, with four adults and a nine-year-old child dead. Authorities reported 41 people suffered serious or life-threatening injuries.

The suspect, identified as Taleb A., a 50-year-old man from Saudi Arabia who had been granted asylum in Germany in 2016, drove a black rental car into crowds at a Christmas market in the heart of Magdeburg, a city of 240,000 people located about two hours west of Berlin.

While authorities are investigating the incident as an attack, Chief Public Prosecutor Horst Walter Nopens said it remained unclear whether they deemed it an act of terrorism, local media reported.

The Diocese of Magdeburg announced that St. Sebastian’s Cathedral would be open Saturday for prayer and reflection. A memorial service was scheduled for Saturday evening at Magdeburg Cathedral.

Bishop Gerhard Feige of Magdeburg issued a statement immediately after the attack Friday evening: “I think of those affected, their relatives, and the emergency services and include them in my prayers.”

The local bishop added, “especially in these days and before a feast where the message of God’s love, human dignity, and the longing for a healed world particularly move us, such an act is all the more frightening and abysmal.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser visited the city to meet with local officials and pay their respects at the site of the attack.

The German Bishops’ Conference president, Bishop Georg Bätzing, said the “attack in Magdeburg leaves us speechless. The horror, grief, and sympathy are felt today by many people throughout Germany and worldwide.”

The suspect had previously worked as a psychotherapist and, according to German media reports, had been posting increasingly erratic messages on social media in recent months, including threats of bloodshed and “war” against German authorities. In a 2019 interview, he had described himself as an “ex-Muslim.”

The attack occurred at a location that was not protected by concrete barriers, which have been installed at Christmas markets across Germany following several Islamist terror attacks at public events, including at a Berlin Christmas market in 2016 that killed 12 people.