Spain, Urda train crash: the toll and the Church
Provisional toll, national mourning and the Spanish bishops' response
On Wednesday 28 October 2026, around 8:54 a.m., two high-speed trains collided near Urda (Toledo) on the Madrid–Andalusia line, between Urda and Los Yébenes. Castilla-La Mancha authorities gave a provisional official toll of 68 dead (44 on the Iryo, 24 on the Renfe AVE) and more than 100 injured hospitalized. There were 393 passengers on the AVE and 151 on the Iryo. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez declared three days of national mourning. Rescue work continued into the night; the toll may still rise.
It is Spain’s deadliest rail disaster since 2013 and the second serious crash on the same high-speed line in nine months, after Adamuz (Córdoba) in January 2026.
## The Church’s response
The Spanish Bishops’ Conference expressed «condolences and closeness» to the families, praying for the eternal rest of the dead and the recovery of the injured, and asked for prayer in all Christian celebrations under the intercession of Mary, Consoler of the afflicted and Queen of peace. It also entrusted rescuers and those accompanying the bereaved.
The Archbishop of Toledo, Francisco Cerro Chaves, went to the scene with priests, described a «dantesque» situation and, with Auxiliary Bishop Francisco César García Magán, put the archdiocese, the parishes of Urda and Los Yébenes and Diocesan Cáritas at the service of those affected. He ordered that on Thursday 29 October at noon the bells of every diocesan church toll in mourning and invited the faithful to pray the Angelus for the victims.
CEE president Bishop Luis Argüello invited people to look to the Cristo de la Vera Cruz of Urda to «weep and pray». Cardinal José Cobo (Madrid), Cardinal Antonio María Rouco Varela (prayer at the Angelus) and other dioceses, including Seville, also expressed grief.
As of the evening of 28 October no papal telegram from Leo XIV had yet been published (the Holy See Press Office issued only the General Audience and private audiences). For Adamuz in January, a telegram signed by Cardinal Parolin had been released.
Sources: CEE, Architoledo, Gobierno de Castilla-La Mancha / Europa Press, AP, Reuters.
Source: Conferencia Episcopal Española