CNS Photo/Peter Nicholls, Reuters

WASHINGTON (CNS)—U.S. Catholics joined Pope Francis and the rest of the world in expressing sorrow for those killed and severely injured in the latest terrorist attacks in London the night of June 3.

“The vigil of Pentecost had barely begun when the world was burdened yet again, this time by the sinister attacks on innocent men and women in the heart of London,” Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in an early June 4 statement.

After a terrorist attack near the London Bridge June 3. people leave the area with their hands up. Seven people were killed and 48 injured when three terrorists in a van mowed down pedestrians on the bridge before stabbing a police officer and revelers around Borough Market. CNS photo/Neil Hall, Reuters

“In such tragic hours, we implore the Holy Spirit to pour out his gift of comfort on those who grieve the loss of loved ones and on the dozens who were so tragically injured in this horrible attack,” he said. “At the same time, we see in the courage of the first responders the true and courageous spirit of our brothers and sisters, the people of Great Britain.”

After celebrating Mass on Pentecost, June 4, with an estimated 60,000 people in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis offered public prayers for the victims of the attacks in London that left seven people dead and 48 others injured.

“May the Holy Spirit grant peace to the whole world,” he said. “May He heal the wounds of war and of terrorism, which even last night in London struck innocent civilians. Let us pray for the victims and their families.”

In his statement, Cardinal DiNardo said U.S. Catholics joined in the pope’s prayers for the victims and survivors, and he added: “May God grant strength, wisdom and protection to the men and women who safeguard our families and may he convert the hearts of all who follow the path of evil extremism. Our solidarity in Christian hope and commitment to peace is a bond that cannot be broken.”

Three attackers first mowed people down on the London Bridge in a white van, then left the van to go on a killing spree in London’s Borough Market, according to news reports.

Muslims pray at a floral tribute near London Bridge June 4. The night of June 3, three attackers rammed a van into pedestrians on London Bridge and then attacked people with knives in a crowded restaurant area nearby. The three were shot and killed by police. CNS Photo/Peter Nicholls, Reuters

Police shot and killed the three men, but the violence already took the lives of seven victims and left dozens more injured. Thirty-six people were hospitalized June 5, and 18 of them were in critical condition. Among those injured were citizens of France, Australia, New Zealand, Germany and Spain, in addition to British nationals, and several British police officers. A young Canadian woman, Chrissy Archibald, is the only one of those killed who was publicly identified as of June 5.

The Islamic state group claimed responsibility for the attacks. Two of the three attackers were identified June 5 by police as residents of Barking, East London, one a native of Pakistan and the second as a possible native of either Morocco or Libya.

In New York, WABC-TV’s “Eyewitness News” reported that a college student from Brooklyn who attends Jesuit-run Boston College was at a pub with some of his classmates in London’s Borough Market when terrorists came in with long knives and started attacking people.

As others fled the pub scene or huddled in fear, Mark Kindschuh, 19, of Bay Ridge, stayed to help a man he saw fighting for his life, the TV station reported.

“All I could see was one man at the front on the ground with a pool of blood forming,” Kindschuh told WABC-TV. “You couldn’t really see it, because there was so much blood around his head, but I searched around with my hands, and it was on the back of his head.”

Kindschuh said he took his belt and wrapped it around the victim’s head to slow the bleeding, then shouted to the crowd asking if anyone was a doctor. He stayed with the victim and a short while later police entered the bar.

His father, Dr. Mark Kindschuh, who is director of Coney Island Hospital’s Emergency Department, told WABC he was proud that his son stayed with the injured man and showed such selflessness amid the panic.