Madrid blast victims remembered

The diplomatic community offered Mass yesterday at the San Agustin Church in Intramuros, Manila for the victims of the train bombings in Madrid, Spain last March 11 that left more than 200 dead and some 1,400 wounded.

Spanish Ambassador Ignacio Sagaz also thanked all Filipinos for standing by Spain in its moment of grief.

"I want to say that we are overwhelmed by the constant display of affection and solidarity we received from all the Filipinos. This sympathy is comforting us a great deal in this very sad moment of grievances for all Spaniards," Sagaz told reporters shortly after the 9 a.m. Mass.

Sagaz said the Mass was dedicated to those killed or wounded by the terror attacks in four train stations in the Spanish capital.

"My Spanish fellow countrymen wanted this Mass as a token of sympathy and mourning for all the Spaniards and other nationalities (who were) victims of the terror attacks. We just hope that that was the last one," he said.

Sagaz refused to comment on the new Spanish government’s plan to pull out its forces from the US-led coalition in Iraq.

"That’s a political matter that I don’t want to elaborate on," he said.

On the weekend after the bombings, voters in Spain trooped to the polls and elected a new socialist government.

Some of those who attended the Mass yesterday wore black armbands. British Ambassador Paul Dimond was among those present to express solidarity with Spain in the aftermath of the terror attacks.

Fr. Pedro Galende, San Agustin Church director, and his co-celebrant said prayers for the souls of those killed in the terror attack and for those still recuperating in hospital. Galende said he hopes for the speedy recovery of the wounded.

"We have come to tell them that we are with you... we extend to you our helping hand," Galende said during his homily. "Today we offer you the best years of golden lives."

In an effort to comfort the loved ones of those killed in the attack, Galenda cited the message of Jesus Christ to Mary Magdalene, in which He said, "Don’t look for me among the dead, look for me among the living, where there is a joy and merriness with a loving and compassionate father."

Some 200 people, one of them a Spanish-Filipino, were killed and 1,400 wounded after bombs exploded inside a train and three other rail stations during rush hour in the morning of March 11.

Thousands of residents took to the streets to denounce the bombings, which the government earlier blamed on the Spanish separatist group ETA. Mounting evidence however pointed to the terror network al-Qaeda of Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden.