“Although Francis had a prepared text in English, he dispensed with it in order to speak extemporaneously in Spanish, which is a vintage sign that the pope is truly engaged with the subject.

“I don’t know what to say to you,” Francis told the crowd. “So many of you lost members of your family, so I remain silent and walk with you with my silent heart.” write John Allen in his Crux column.

He continues “Francis said.

“Some of you might tell me, ‘Father, I’ve lost all hope, lost my home, my job, I’m ill. I’ve been disappointed by Jesus.’ I respect those feelings, but I see [Jesus] nailed to the cross and from there he doesn’t let us down,” he said.

In a trademark bit of colloquial language, he compared the fear and helplessness that people experience in such a disaster to children who grab their mother’s skirt and scream “Mom!”

“Let’s us grab our mother’s skirt,” he said, referring to the Virgin Mary, “and tell her what we’re feeling.” The pontiff then asked for a moment of silence.

Read the full Crux column.