VATICAN CITY, March 29 (UPI) -- At his annual Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City, Pope Francis prayed for those who died in the Germanwings Flight 9525 crash last Tuesday. The disaster killed 150 people, including the co-pilot who investigators say deliberately slammed the plane into a mountain.
The Pope clutched a palm frond during the traditional procession according to NBC News. Unlike many of his predecessors, the pontiff leaned on a plain pastoral staff, instead of a more ornate one. Tens of thousands of pilgrims held olive and palm branches aloft as they joined His Holiness in St Peter's Square.