In this Nov. 23, 2012 file photo, Grand Prix driver Michael Schumacher, of Germany, sits in his car during a free practice at the Interlagos race track in Sao Paulo, Brazil. AP
Pope Francis prayed for racing legend Michael Schumacher on Thursday as he offered his backing for a Formula One-led road safety campaign aimed at reducing the number of children killed by cars.
The prayer came after Francis was visited by Jean Todt, the president of the Formula One’s governing body FIA, who showed the pontiff a shock three-minute video used in the “Save Kids’ Lives” campaign.
“I think it made a big impression on him,” Todt told Radio Vatican. “We informed him that 500 children die on roads every day and that another 20,000 are injured every day.”
Todt said he had also discussed Schumacher’s condition with the pope. “I asked him if he wanted to say a prayer and he happily accepted.”
Schumacher, a seven-time world champion in Formula One, suffered a serious head injury while skiing in the French Alps in December 2013.
He spent six months in an induced coma in 2014 before returning to his home in Switzerland to continue his rehabilitation.
Since then his family have released little information about his condition. Todt, a close friend, said in November that the German ace was “still fighting.”