From The Australian….THREE relatives of Pope Francis, two great- nephews and their mother, have been killed in a car accident in Argentina, the Vatican confirmed last night.

The dead included a baby of eight months and a two-year-old toddler. Their father, the Pope’s nephew Horacio Bergoglio, is in serious condition.

The family were travelling on a highway in the central province of Cordoba when their car hit a truck from behind.

The Pope’s nephew — the son of Alberto, the Pope’s late brother — was admitted to hospital with multiple injuries.

Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said “the pope was informed about the tragic accident. He is deeply pained.”

He added the pope asks “all who share in his grief to unite with him in prayer.”

The accident happened a day after the Pope publicly broached the prospect of his own death for the first time, giving himself “two or three years” but not ruling out retirement before then.