Archbishop calls on community to pray for peace in Syria and in New Orleans
At a Mass called to pray for peace in Syria, Archbishop Gregory Aymond asked New Orleanians to also pray for peace on the streets of their city, saying they should be careful not to become immune to the local violence that seems to have become part of everyday life.
Aymond and the Rev. Terry Hayden led the Saturday morning Mass at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Prompt Succor. It was celebrated in response to Pope Francis’ call for a day of fasting and prayer on behalf of Syria and the Middle East.
The archbishop spoke of the need for peace in Syria, and also focused on what he called “the war on the streets of our great and historic city of New Orleans."
“We cannot become unaffected” by the violence, he said. “It’s more than another statistic.”
Aymond referenced the deaths of 1-year-old Londyn Samuels and 11-year-old Arabian Gayles, who both were killed in recent days.
Londyn died Aug. 29 on Saratoga Street when a bullet tore through her babysitter and then struck her. Gayles died Sept. 1 after she was shot several times — including once in the head — inside a house in the 1300 block of Gen. Ogden Street.
Aymond said he attended Londyn's wake before Mass and spoke with some of her family. Gayles will be buried next week, he said.
“There is no way — unless we’ve experienced it firsthand — you and I can understand the grief they went through,” Aymond said.
Parishioners filled the church for Saturday's Mass, and many left notes on a sign-in sheet at the entrance. Some asked for prayers to end violence in New Orleans; others asked for peace in Syria.
Aymond said the New Orleans community should pray for the people killed in Syria, and pray that their family members and friends find peace. While the Mass was being celebrated in New Orleans, he said, thousands were gathering in St. Peter’s Square in Rome for a five-hour vigil.
“We are far away from Rome, and yet we are connected by our Holy Father and our prayers for peace,” he said.
President Barack Obama has said he plans to address the nation on Tuesday regarding possible military action in Syria. The U.S. has said Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime was behind recent chemical attacks that killed more than 1,400 Syrians.
Aymond and the Rev. Terry Hayden led the Saturday morning Mass at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Prompt Succor. It was celebrated in response to Pope Francis’ call for a day of fasting and prayer on behalf of Syria and the Middle East.
The archbishop spoke of the need for peace in Syria, and also focused on what he called “the war on the streets of our great and historic city of New Orleans."
“We cannot become unaffected” by the violence, he said. “It’s more than another statistic.”
Aymond referenced the deaths of 1-year-old Londyn Samuels and 11-year-old Arabian Gayles, who both were killed in recent days.
Londyn died Aug. 29 on Saratoga Street when a bullet tore through her babysitter and then struck her. Gayles died Sept. 1 after she was shot several times — including once in the head — inside a house in the 1300 block of Gen. Ogden Street.
Aymond said he attended Londyn's wake before Mass and spoke with some of her family. Gayles will be buried next week, he said.
“There is no way — unless we’ve experienced it firsthand — you and I can understand the grief they went through,” Aymond said.
Parishioners filled the church for Saturday's Mass, and many left notes on a sign-in sheet at the entrance. Some asked for prayers to end violence in New Orleans; others asked for peace in Syria.
Aymond said the New Orleans community should pray for the people killed in Syria, and pray that their family members and friends find peace. While the Mass was being celebrated in New Orleans, he said, thousands were gathering in St. Peter’s Square in Rome for a five-hour vigil.
“We are far away from Rome, and yet we are connected by our Holy Father and our prayers for peace,” he said.
President Barack Obama has said he plans to address the nation on Tuesday regarding possible military action in Syria. The U.S. has said Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime was behind recent chemical attacks that killed more than 1,400 Syrians.
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