Heads bow in St. Peter's Square in prayer led by pope for African migrants who died in desert

Pope Francis delivers his blessing during the Angelus noon prayer he delivered from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square, on he occasion of All Saints Day, at the Vatican, Friday, Nov. 1, 2013. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) (The Associated Press)

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Pope Francis delivers his blessing during the Angelus noon prayer he delivered from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square, on he occasion of All Saints Day, at the Vatican, Friday, NoV. 1, 2013. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) (The Associated Press)

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis has led tens of thousands of people in silent prayer in memory of African migrants who died of thirst after being stranded in the Sahara.

People packed in St. Peter's Square on Friday bowed their head as the pope asked for prayers for "our brothers and sisters" who perished "from thirst, hunger and exhaustion" trying to reach a better life.

Nearly 100 Africans met a grisly end in Niger after the trucks they were traveling in broke down in the middle of the Sahara before they could reach Algeria.

Francis, speaking to the crowd on the All Saints Day holiday, lamented that "in these days we have seen the images of the cruel desert." Some 50 children were among the dead.