Swiss Bishop Jean-Marie Lovey leads a nation in mourning after the Crans-Montana fire, calling the Church to console, listen, and bring light.
Newsroom (05/01/2026 ) On the morning after New Year’s Day, the calm of Crans-Montana was pierced by the wail of sirens and the weight of grief. What should have been the joyous start to 2026 turned into one of Switzerland’s darkest nights. A blaze ripped through an Alpine bar, Le Constellation, in the early hours of January 1, killing more than forty people and injuring over a hundred. Among the victims were young revelers, tourists, and locals—a cross-section of a community known for its warmth and tranquility, now united in sorrow.
A Community in Mourning
Standing amid the smoke and disbelief is Bishop Jean-Marie Lovey of Sion, who has become the spiritual voice of a wounded canton. In the aftermath, he told Vatican News that “the Church is called to share the pain and to make itself present,” describing the importance of proximity and silence in the face of collective trauma. “Faced with a tragedy that has profoundly shaken the local community,” he said, “the Church is first of all called to a silent and shared presence.”
That presence was lived out on Thursday evening, when more than 400 people filled the church of Montana for a Mass in memory of the victims. The pews overflowed, as tourists and locals, Catholics and Protestants alike, came together to weep and pray. “The church was completely full,” Bishop Lovey recalled. “People need to gather, to come together again, to live together the emotion and perhaps the comfort that presence can offer.”
At the end of the Mass, the congregation moved quietly toward the site of the fire, laying flowers and lighting candles in a gesture that transformed the blackened remains into a makeshift shrine of hope.
Faith in the Shadow of Loss
“The atmosphere is heavy and charged,” Lovey said of his diocese. “There are many emotions, incomprehension, and questions.” He emphasized that his first duty was not to rush to the scene but to make space—for police, for rescuers, for families in shock. For him, the Church’s response begins in listening and accompaniment.
“Ensuring a presence—this is the very being of God,” he said. “God defines Himself as the One who is with. And here there is a very strong expectation, even if it is not always explicitly expressed.”
Crans-Montana, known for its high-altitude beauty and cosmopolitan character, is home to a diverse community. Especially during the holidays, it welcomes visitors from across Europe—many of whom were caught in the tragedy. “It is a sports and holiday resort, inhabited by a very heterogeneous population,” Lovey reflected. “There are people from all countries… many Italian families will be truly and deeply affected.”
A National Wave of Solidarity
As authorities continue to investigate the cause of the fire, tributes and gestures of solidarity have poured in from across Switzerland and beyond. Hospitals in France and Italy have taken in the injured. Political and religious leaders have expressed support for the victims’ families and gratitude to the first responders who worked tirelessly through the night.
Pope Leo XIV, in a message sent through Cardinal Pietro Parolin, joined the mourning, praying “to the Lord to welcome the deceased into His dwelling of peace and light, and to support the courage of those who suffer in their hearts or in their bodies.” He invoked the Virgin Mary to “bring the comfort of faith to all those affected by this tragedy and keep them in hope.”
The Swiss Bishops’ Conference also announced several national gestures of mourning, including the ringing of church bells at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, eucharistic adoration, a communal rosary, and a Sunday Mass of suffrage concelebrated by Bishop Lovey and Bishop Charles Morerod, alongside leaders of the Reformed Evangelical Church. “All our churches can be places of support, comfort, and prayer at this terrible time,” the Bishops’ statement read.
“A Light Is Possible”
For Bishop Lovey, standing with the grieving is more than solidarity—it is faith in practice. As he prepares for the coming celebrations of the Epiphany, his message looks forward: “Beyond these dark and black clouds, beyond the fire of this bar and what it represents as a burden in the lives of families, I would like to say that a light is possible.”
That belief, he insists, lies at the heart of Christianity. “Upon the land of darkness and upon those who lived in the shadow of suffering and pain, a light shines,” he said. “God can enter the hearts of those who are struck… I would like families to believe that light is possible.”
On a snowy evening in the Alps, as candles still burn in the windows of Crans-Montana, Switzerland’s Church embodies that conviction—quietly, steadfastly, walking beside the bereaved until some light, however faint, begins to dawn again.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Vatican News
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