After the tragic shooting at Catholic school/church, Minnesota parents display school desks at state capitol to measure the loss

 

Empty school desks on Minnesota Capitol grounds signify children lost to gun violence

written by Joe Ruff 

Jackie Flavin, mother of Harper Moyski, who died in the Aug. 27, 2025, shooting at Annunciation Church in south Minneapolis, carries a desk she and other Annunciation volunteers were setting up on the grounds of the Minnesota Capitol Feb. 23, 2026, to signify children who have died by gun violence in Minnesota since 2021. They are part of an organization of parents called Annunciation Light Alliance, which is lobbying to protect children from gun violence. (OSV News photo/Dave Hrbacek, The Catholic Spirit)

ST. PAUL, Minn. (OSV News) — They were preparing for three days of presence and legislative testimony as they seek gun safety laws. The desks represented more than 200 Minnesota children lost to gun violence since 2021, the group said.

Jackie Flavin — the mother of Harper Moyski, a 10-year-old student who died in an Aug. 27 shooting during an all-school Mass at Annunciation Church in south Minneapolis — helped spearhead the lobbying effort through an organization of parents called Annunciation Light Alliance.

Two school desks inside Capitol

The shooting also took the life of 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel and wounded more than a dozen other students and three adults. In their honor, Flavin set up two desks inside the Capitol building: one for her daughter and one for Fletcher, with their backpacks and school-related things. She included her daughter’s photo, a soccer ball, slip-on shoes, papers and a pencil cup.

Flavin’s husband, Mike Moyski, also helped set up the desks in 20-degree weather on the snow-filled Capitol grounds. The desks were expected to be in place through Feb. 26.

“My hope is that all this brings some meaning into the big decisions that are being made as the (legislative) session takes shape Feb. 17 through May,” Moyski told The Catholic Spirit, newspaper of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. “We hope that as legislators — Democrat, Republican, whatever it might be — as they walk in and enter the session every morning, they see … the impact” gun violence “has on communities and families and think about what they’re doing.”

‘Not just for legislators to see’

“And just one other thing,” Moyski said. “It’s not just for the legislators to see this and find some meaning. I think it’s also for all of our kids who have been through something at a young age they should never have (had) to. To see that somebody’s out here doing something about it and that there can be some light amongst all the darkness.”

Jackie Flavin, mother of Harper Moyski, who died in the Aug. 27, 2025, shooting at Annunciation church in south Minneapolis, looks at desks she set up Feb. 23, 2026, in honor of Harper and another Annunciation student, Fletcher Merkel, who also died in the shooting. Flavin and other Annunciation volunteers set up those two desks plus others outside to signify children who have died by gun violence in Minnesota since 2021. They are part of an organization of parents called Annunciation Light Alliance, which is lobbying to protect children from gun violence. (OSV News photo/Dave Hrbacek, The Catholic Spirit)

In addition to testimony, Annunciation students in grades six through eight participated in a sing-along in the Capitol rotunda Feb. 24. Another sing-along was planned for Feb. 26 with Annunciation students in grades three through five.

“We gather in song and shared humanity to bring care and presence into the space where public decisions are made,” said a flyer advertising what Annunciation Light Alliance billed as “Minnesota Sing Together” community gatherings.

Kristen Neville and her husband, Michael Burt, were among those helping set up the desks. 

Annunciation Light Alliance

Parents of five children at Annunciation, they have been involved with Annunciation Light Alliance since the effort began taking shape in the weeks after the shooting as parents concerned about gun violence contacted one another. Ideas began to solidify in September, Neville said.

“We established what our overall structure was, established a leadership team, task forces. And then we ended up determining our mission, our vision, and our values, and ultimately landed on a name — Annunciation Light Alliance,” Neville said.

The alliance has about 160 members, and its leadership team of about 20 people meets once a week, including co-chairs Neville and Brittany Haeg, Neville said. Quarterly meetings draw about 80 people in person and online, she said. People can learn more at the group’s website at annunciationlight.org.

‘Help keep our kids safe’

Lisa Shepherd, communications director for the alliance, said its members hope to “get all the right people at the right table. It doesn’t matter who you are, what you believe in, just come up with the right solution to keep our kids safe at the end of the day.”

On Feb. 24, Gov. Tim Walz, who urged a special session to address gun violence shortly after the shooting at Annunciation, announced what he called a comprehensive gun violence prevention package.

The proposals included banning military-style assault rifles and high-capacity magazines; requiring safe storage and reporting of lost or stolen firearms; not allowing Minnesotans to possess guns without serial numbers; implementing a firearm insurance requirement; establishing a firearm and ammunition tax; and expanding early intervention resources, including school resources, to prevent gun violence.

Three-tiered approach to gun violence

The Minnesota Catholic Conference — the public policy arm of the state’s Catholic bishops — has suggested a three-tiered approach to gun violence in this legislative session.

Its proposals include banning high-capacity ammunition magazines and expanding safe schools funding to at least $100 per student in state aid while extending eligibility to nonpublic, charter and tribal schools. 

The Catholic conference also suggests increasing state aid and school-board approved levy authority to ensure school districts have sustainable resources to meet safety needs; and stopping the harms of addictive social media by requiring parental consent for children under 16 years old to join social media platforms. If consent is given, the legislation would prohibit targeted advertising and addictive features and require privacy settings for children that help parents monitor and limit use.

Annunciation eighth-grader’s story

During a Feb. 24 news conference to announce Walz’s gun violence prevention package, Annunciation Catholic School eighth-grader Lydia Kaiser spoke to those assembled, describing being in church for “the first school Mass of the year when a gunman fired 116 rounds of bullets through the stained-glass windows.”

“Two students were shot and killed. Two students survived gunshot injuries to the head. I’m one of them,” she said. “Many more students were injured by bullets and flying glass. We all hid under the pews. The older students covered the younger students to protect them.”

Lydia was taken to the hospital “and rushed into surgery.” “The doctor moved a large piece, almost half of my skull, to let my brain swell, and to remove bone and bullet fragments from my head,” she said. “I had a second surgery three weeks later to put the piece of my skull back in my head.”

“All children have the right to live free from gun violence in schools, churches and in our communities,” Lydia said. “Elected officials have a duty to protect us from guns. No one should have to go through what we went through at Annunciation. Thank you.”

Joe Ruff is editor-in-chief of The Catholic Spirit, newspaper of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Contributing to this story was Rebecca Omastiak, the news editor at The Catholic Spirit. This story was originally published by The Catholic Spirit and distributed through a partnership with OSV News.

Reparation, remembrance and rebirth in Minneapolis

 

3 months after fatal shooting, Minneapolis church is restored for worship

written by Joe Ruff 

The faithful gather with Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis and Auxiliary Bishops Kevin T. Kenney and Michael Izen, Father Dennis Zehren, pastor of Annunciation, Father Tom Margevicius, master of ceremonies, and Deacons Kevin Conneely and Eric Cooley in front of the main doors to Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis Dec. 6, 2025, for the "Rite of Reparation After the Desecration of a Church." (OSV News photo/Joe Ruff, The Catholic Spirit)

MINNEAPOLIS (OSV News) — On a cold, wintery day, with the congregation gathered around Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis and Auxiliary Bishops Kevin T. Kenney and Michael Izen outside the main doors of Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, the rite of reparation began Dec. 6 that restored the space for worship.

The special Mass was held more than three months after an Aug. 27 shooting during an all-school Mass killed two students — 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel and 10-year-old Harper Moyski — and injured 18 students and three adults. The suspected shooter died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the scene, police said.

“My brothers and sisters, the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead proclaims that evil and death do not have the final word; God does,” the archbishop prayed outside the church, with temperatures in the low 20s.

“An Easter preface of the Eucharistic prayer proclaims, ‘By dying, he destroyed our death, and by rising, restored our life,'” the archbishop prayed. “As our archdiocesan patron St. Paul asserted, ‘Where, O death, is your victory: Where, O death, is your sting?’

“Our Blessed Mother lived this faith and cooperated with God’s plan for her life, despite the difficulties it would occasion. We profess that our souls now will rejoin hers in proclaiming the greatness of the Lord in this church, dedicated in her honor, and now reclaimed for the glory of God.”

Litany materials suggested prayers related to rite of reparation

Accompanied by chanting of the Litany of the Saints, servers entered the church carrying incense, the cross and candles, followed by the bishops, vested in purple, deacons, and priests of the archdiocese in white vestments, other liturgical ministers and all the assembly.

The parish asked that the media not be allowed inside for the Mass. Materials prepared for the rite suggested that part of the litany would include prayers related to the rite of reparation, including the faithful praying “bring healing to those who were injured,” “bring healing and comfort to those suffering the harm done to their children,” and “restore the sanctity of this church, dedicated to your glory and the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.”

Inside the church, the altar was bare, unadorned with candles, altar cloths, flowers or other displays of joy, the materials stated. Archbishop Hebda, Bishop Kenney and Bishop Izen processed to their chairs.

A deacon filled two vessels with water and the congregation joined the archbishop in prayer as he blessed the water “which will be sprinkled on us as a memorial of our baptism; it was used when this sacred space was first consecrated, and will now be used in reparation for the evils which have occurred.”

Escorted by deacons, Archbishop Hebda and Father Dennis Zehren, pastor of Annunciation, sprinkled the altar and sanctuary, the church walls and the congregation with the holy water.

Readings from the first Saturday of Advent included verses from Isaiah proclaiming, “O people of Zion, who dwell in Jerusalem, no more will you weep; He will be gracious to you when you cry out, as soon as he hears he will answer you.”

The Gospel from Matthew recounted Jesus visiting towns and villages, teaching in synagogues, proclaiming “the Gospel of the Kingdom, and curing every disease and illness.”
After the readings and Archbishop Hebda’s homily, the altar was prepared for the celebration of the Eucharist, and the Mass proceeded.

In notes prepared for his homily, the archbishop began by recounting the “blustery day in March of 1963, as the church universal was engaged in the renewal brought about by the Second Vatican Council, this church was formally dedicated by Archbishop (Leo) Binz.”

The parish had been in existence for more than 40 years, and the building had been in use for a few months, the archbishop wrote.

“As part of that ritual, Archbishop Binz would have anointed the altar and walls of the church with sacred chrism,” he continued, “the same chrism that is used to claim an infant as a child of God in baptism, the same chrism that is used at confirmation to seal us with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the same chrism with which the hands of a priest are anointed, the same chrism that is poured on the head of a bishop on the day of his ordination.

“The anointing with sacred chrism is a sign of being set aside for God, of being claimed by God,” the archbishop wrote. “If there was any question about that in the case of Annunciation Church, one would only have to look at the inscription on the facade: ‘This is the house of God and the gate of heaven.'”

People of the community as living stones

The readings at a Mass of dedication don’t focus on the building, the archbishop noted. “But rather on the people who make up the community that will worship there, the living stones, who, being nourished by the Eucharist and strengthened by the other sacraments, are called to go out of the church, out of the sacred space, and renew the world.”

Still, the building is important in part as “an architectural recognition of the truth that we’re all created to give God praise.”

“We know all too well what happened here, however, on the morning of Aug. 27. This safe haven, this place of refuge, this foretaste of the order of the heavenly kingdom, was disturbed by a chaos that no one could have imagined,” the archbishop wrote. “It’s for that chaos that we’ve come together to engage in this act of penance and reparation this day.

A cross with the name of 10-year-old shooting victim Harper Moyski stands amid flowers in a makeshift memorial outside Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis Sept. 3, 2025. The shooter opened fire with a rifle through the windows of the church Aug. 27 and struck children from the parish school who were attending Mass during the first week of school, killing two and wounding 21 others. (OSV News photo/Alex Wroblewski, pool via Reuters)

“This community will never forget what happened that day and will forever remember with great love Harper and Fletcher, whose beautiful and inspiring lives were cut short as they and fellow students gathered for the Eucharist,” he added.

The archbishop expressed gratitude for Father Zehren and Matt DeBoer, principal of Annunciation Catholic School, and for the children and parishioners of Annunciation, for reminding the faithful that Aug. 27 wasn’t the end of the story.

“I’ve never seen such an outpouring of love and mutual support as I have witnessed here these last three months,” the archbishop wrote. “The sorrow understandably lingers, but there’s a Christ-centered resilience here that is remarkable — and praise God — it’s been contagious.

Advent the appropriate time for rite of reparation

“Today we gather penitentially for this rite of reparation in the hope of restoring the order that Christ desires for his Church, his family. We cannot undo the tragic loss of Fletcher and Harper, but we can communicate to the world that we recognize that the power of God is far in excess of any evil; that where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more,” he wrote.

“We cannot let Satan win, and we, by God’s grace, reclaim this space today for Christ and his Church.”

The light that illuminates and reminds the faithful of Christ’s presence in the tabernacle and in the community must be shared with others, the archbishop said.

Advent is an appropriate time for the rite of reparation as the church prepares for Christmas and the reality that Jesus came into the world, took on weak human flesh to be with sadness and grief, to be with the Moyskis and the Merkels, and with all those impacted by the tragedy of Aug. 27, the archbishop wrote.

“I thank you for being with me this morning,” the archbishop wrote, “for praying with me for God’s blessing on this space and this community. May it be a moment of true renewal for our Church, here at Annunciation and throughout our archdiocese. Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever.”

She survived that horrific school Mass shooting; finally Sophia comes home

 

Prayers Answered: Annunciation Shooting Survivor Sophia Forchas Finally Comes Home

'Each step she takes is a living testament to the boundless grace of God and the miraculous power of prayer.'

Shooting survivor Sophia Forchas in a photo before the incident and then posing with neurosurgeon Dr. Walt Galicich at Gilette Children’s Hospital on a very happy day as she goes home to be with her family. (photo: Forchas Family / Forchas Family )

Alyssa Murphy October 24, 2025

Twelve-year-old Sophia Forchas is finally home — after spending 57 days in the hospital with severe injuries sustained from the deadly shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis during the first school Mass of the year that claimed the lives of two students. 

Sophia received a fond farewell outside the hospital on Oct. 23. 

In a statement posted to the family’s GoFundMe page, Sophia’s parents, Tom and Amy Forchas, wrote: “Today marks one of the most extraordinary days of our lives! Our beloved daughter, Sophia, is coming home!!”

Speaking with gratitude for the team of doctors that worked diligently to save their daughter, the couple wrote, “We thank you from the depths of our hearts. We will never forget your world-class care that sustained her. Your commitment carried us through.”

Sophia still has a long road ahead with “outpatient therapy,” but her parents said that “our hearts are filled with indescribable joy as we witness her speech improving daily, her personality shining through once more, and her ability to walk, swim, and even dribble a basketball. Each step she takes is a living testament to the boundless grace of God and the miraculous power of prayer.”

In a news conference Sept. 5, neurosurgeon Dr. Walt Galicich of Hennepin County Medical Center told reporters that in treating Sophia’s injuries he would attempt to “go through the normal brain to get there” and potentially cause more damage. Given the pressure in her brain, Sophia’s survival was extremely low. 

The neurosurgeon led a team in performing a decompressive craniectomy, which removed the left half of her skull to allow the pressure in her brain to be relieved.

“If you had told me at this juncture that, 10 days later, we’d be standing here with any ray of hope, I would have said, ‘It would take a miracle,’” Galicich said tearfully to reporters back in September.

Sophia’s mother, who works as a pediatric nurse in the critical care unit at the hospital where the victims were taken, had no idea that it was her child’s school that had been attacked that fateful day. She initially had no idea that one of the three patients was her own daughter.

Sophia’s younger brother also witnessed the school shooting that day; and by the grace of God, he was left unscathed, though he is still suffering from the trauma, given the horrific event and his sister’s dire injuries.

After Sophia’s 57-day stint in the hospital, Galicich gave his young patient a big hug as she walked out of the Hennepin County Medical Center to cheers and applause from her family and classmates. Even the city’s police chief was present, taking her on a ride through the city in a stretch limo to mark the occasion. 

Speaking to The Minneapolis Star Tribune, Police Chief Brian O’Hara called Sophia’s homecoming “nothing short of a miracle.”

Ecstatic parents Tom and Amy also noted how crucial prayer was in their daughter’s healing, writing in their statement, “Those prayers came from family, friends, and countless souls around the world; many of whom have never met Sophia, yet lifted her spirit with unconditional love. Your prayers have been a wellspring of comfort, hope, and healing for our entire family. We are certain that God heard every single one.”

The Forchases expressed condolences to the families who lost their children during the shooting, saying, “We continue to pray for those whose lives were tragically lost on that heartbreaking day. May their memory be eternal.”

“We also hold close those who were injured and bear lasting scars, and the families and loved ones forever changed,” the Forchas continued. “May God grant healing, consolation and His peace to all who grieve. To those whose hearts are hardened in despair, may the grace of the All-Holy Spirit soften them. We pray that the Trinity fill the world with compassion and love.”

One month after the shooting and death of two innocent students, Annunciation Church gathers in prayer to remember and heal

 

Hope, healing highlight prayer service and Mass 1 month since Annunciation shooting

written by Joe Ruff 

Harry Kaiser, center, prays the Our Father with his daughter, Lydia, second from right, and wife, Leah, right, during a prayer service at Annunciation in Minneapolis, Minn., on Sept. 27, 2025, the one-month anniversary of a shooting at the church. (OSV News photo/David Hrbacek, The Catholic Spirit)

(OSV News) — Sharing hugs, tears and smiles, more than 150 people gathered on the lawn outside Annunciation Catholic Church and School in Minneapolis for a morning prayer service Sept. 27.

Led by Principal Matthew DeBoer, as well as the pastor, Father Dennis Zehren, and teachers and others in the Annunciation community, the 40-minute gathering at 8:30 a.m. marked exactly one month since a shooting at the church during an all-school Mass killed two students and wounded 21 other people.

Memorial Mass

At 10 a.m., Archbishop Bernard Hebda presided, and Bishop Michael Izen and numerous priests concelebrated a Memorial Mass at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul for the two students who lost their lives — 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel and 10-year-old Harper Moyski — and their families, and to pray for healing for the students and families of Annunciation school and parish.

“A special word of welcome to our Annunciation community,” Archbishop Hebda said in opening remarks. “I realize there are so many things going on in your lives. I am delighted that you would take time to join us as we offer this holy Mass, as we mark 30 days, this one month’s time, (since) the tragedy. … You know the whole archdiocese has been praying fervently throughout these days. In many ways, people might say they’re all prayed out. I see many of you who (have been) at the daily Rosary at Annunciation at 9 p.m. I know you’ve been offering your prayers.”

At the prayer service, DeBoer spoke about the Merkel home as a place of hope and joy, and a day in August that Fletcher’s mother, Mollie, told him about. DeBoer described girls from the school with their “softball arms” flinging water balloons at boys from the school who were playing basketball in the Merkel’s backyard, “shooting hoops, probably shooting a lot of bricks, if I know those boys as their former coach.”

“It turned into this beautiful back and forth,” DeBoer said. “She shared a video with me this week. The end of the video is Harper and Fletcher breaking open the balloons right over their heads to see who is more wet. We have to remember that joy. We have to remember that light,” the principal said.

Many at the prayer service and at the Mass wore one of two recently made Annunciation T-shirts, one bearing the word “Hope” on the front with the words “Together we heal” on the back, the other with “Joy” on the front and “Be the light” on the back.

Support for victims

Lydia Kaiser, 12, who suffered a gunshot wound on the left side of her head, was at the prayer service with members of her family. Harry Kaiser, her father and Annunciation’s gym teacher, said his daughter passed all cognitive, speech and physical tests so she was discharged from the hospital without any therapy referrals, though the family will continue to monitor her recovery.

Lydia said she was back in school at Annunciation, which has been resuming classes in stages since Sept. 16.

Many in the Kaiser family, including Lydia, also attended Mass at the cathedral. Her mother, Leah, spoke through tears afterward about the support her family has received.

“I am just incredibly grateful that I am part of this Catholic community that is called Annunciation,” Leah Kaiser said. “It has brought this community together in prayer with the archbishop and all of his loving words. Our beautiful pastor, Father Zehren, and his just amazing homily. …

“There are no words to express how much hope and love has just covered this whole dark event in our family and our community, in our daughter,” Leah Kaiser said. “All of us are suffering. But it is very clear that the light and the love are dominating everything.”

In his homily, Father Zehren thanked those gathered and “all of the good and faithful followers of Jesus around the world” who have lifted the Annunciation community in prayer.

“You have been such a source of strength, such a source of comfort to us all, that we pray that that same comfort of Jesus would now return back to you,” Father Zehren said. “As St. Paul writes, you have sown generously, may you also reap generously the great comfort of Jesus that you have shown us. May you come to know that, too, in your hearts.”

Father Zehren said that in raising Fletcher, Harper and others in prayer, “we too, could be raised up to a little greater faith, a little greater hope. And it’s true, it’s the case when we commend somebody to heaven, then heaven more becomes our home. We understand better where we’re supposed to be heading. And when we commend our loved ones to God, then God becomes more real for us.”

Miraculous recovery

Sophia Forchas, 12, who was in critical condition for two weeks with head injuries from the shooting, has been recovering in a way her family has described as nothing short of miraculous.

Father Zehren said he has been praying the words “talitha koum” for Sophia, which means little girl, arise, and are the words Jesus spoke in the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Mark as he raised a girl from the dead.

“And it’s true that when one is raised up, we all get raised up a little more,” Father Zehren said. “And it’s been wondrous, miraculous, to see how Sophia has been being raised up. And every time we hear good news, how she takes another step and is raised up a little higher, we too are raised up a little higher to know the wonders of God working in our midst.”

Childlike love

Noting the gift Fletcher and Harper were to the community when they were alive, Father Zehren said they point to an aspect of being childlike in the eyes of Jesus, that of “just being lovable.”

“Children are just so cute and lovable,” Father Zehren said. “It’s been fun listening to the stories of Fletcher and Harper and how lovable they were. Fletcher’s mother says that Fletcher was the ‘fletchiest Fletcher that ever fletched.’ It sounds like he was just such an outpouring of life and love as little boys can be. And Harper, I hear, was a perfect mix of sweet and spicy, and she was full of life, too. They were just so lovable. And so, to become childlike means that we should try to be more lovable.”

“Sometimes I see somebody, and I think, ‘I don’t think that guy even wants to be loved the way he’s being,’” Father Zehren said. “Can we just try to be a little more lovable so that it’s easier for people to love us? What a gift of a childlike spirit that would be.”

Father Zehren closed his homily by noting that Annunciation’s school has reopened and is “humming again. We’re gathering together for Mass. Sometimes we wonder, how did we get here? But we know it’s been the loving arms of God lifting us and carrying us all the way. Thanks to your support and prayers working through the body of Christ in our midst.”

Joe Ruff is editor-in-chief of The Catholic Spirit, newspaper of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. This story was originally published by The Catholic Spirit and distributed through a partnership with OSV News.

Archbishop Hebda asking for prayers and action after the Annunciation School shooting

 

Archbishop Hebda after Catholic school shooting: We ask for your prayers and action, rooted in hope

written by Maria Wiering 

Families and loved reunite following a shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis Aug. 27, 2025. A shooter opened fire with a rifle through the windows of a the school's church and struck children celebrating Mass during the first week of school, killing two and wounding 17 people in an act of violence the police chief called “absolutely incomprehensible.” (OSV News photo/Dave Hrbacek, The Catholic Spirit)

ST. PAUL, Minn. (OSV News) — Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda told media Aug. 27 that prayers offered from around the United States and world, including from Pope Leo XIV, have been “a source of hope” following that morning’s school shooting during Mass at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis that left two children dead and 17 other victims injured.

“Brothers and sisters, we have to be men and women of hope,” said the archbishop, who leads the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. “It’s through prayer and that ‘prayer of the feet’ — through action — that we can indeed make a difference.”

Archbishop Hebda joined Annunciation Catholic School Principal Matt DeBoer and other city and state leaders in a media briefing outside Annunciation Catholic School and the adjacent Annunciation Catholic Church. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara were present and also spoke at the afternoon press conference.

Speaking as the church bells tolled, Archbishop Hebda noted that “the bell in a Catholic church is always a call to prayer. … It’s a reminder to be praying.”

He commended DeBoer, Annunciation’s pastor Father Dennis Zehren, and Deacon Kevin Conneely for “how valiant” they and their staff were in responding to the tragic school shooting.

“How sad it is … not only for the families who are directly involved, but indeed for families everywhere who feel the threat that comes from an event, a tragedy like today’s,” he said.

Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis is pictured in a 2019 file photo. (OSV News photo/Bob Roller)

Archbishop Hebda read in full that day’s message from Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, that expressed Pope Leo’s prayers and “spiritual closeness” to the victims.

“We know that the Holy Father, Pope Leo, did his hospital training right here in Minneapolis, so he knows our community, and he’s been reminding anybody visiting from Minnesota that he spent some time here,” he said. “We’re very grateful for his blessing, but I … ask that you would continue to look for those ways of supporting those who have been impacted today, not only with your prayers, but also with your action.”

A 23-year-old gunman shot from the outside of the church through windows at the Mass attendees with a rifle, shotgun and pistol, killing two children, ages 8 and 10, before committing suicide. Among the 17 injured were 14 children, all expected to survive. Three adults who were shot were parishioners in their 80s.

School shooting could have been worse

Speaking immediately before Archbishop Hebda, DeBoer commended his staff for their actions during the school shooting and told his school community, “I love you.”

“You’re so brave, and I’m so sorry this happened to us today. Within seconds of this situation beginning, our teachers were heroes,” he said. “Children were ducked down. Adults were protecting children. Older children were protecting younger children, and … it could have been significantly worse without their heroic action.

“This is a nightmare,” he continued, “but we call our staff the dream team and we will recover from this. We will rebuild from this. … We as a community have a responsibility to make sure that no child, no parent, no teacher ever has to experience what we’ve experienced today.”

Atlanta Bishops express grief, sorrow, pray for healing after latest high school shooting

 

Atlanta bishops say 'hearts ache' for lives

‘cruelly cut short’ by latest high school shooting

By

Kate Scanlon

Law enforcement officers and firefighters work at the scene of a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, September 4, 2024. (OSV News photo/Elijah Nouvelage, Reuters)

(OSV News) — The Catholic bishops of Atlanta prayed “for healing and strength” for those injured during a Sept. 4 mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, where the alleged shooter as 14-year-old Colt Gray, who is alive and in custody. According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, at least four people were killed and at least nine injured requiring hospitalization.

In a joint statement late Sept. 4, Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer, OFM Conv., of Atlanta, joined by the diocese’s auxiliary bishops, said, “Our hearts ache for the lives that have been so cruelly cut short by this devastating tragedy.”

“We grieve and pray with those who lost children and loved ones. We ask God for healing and strength for those who have been injured,” they said. “And we invoke God’s blessing on our first responders and medical personnel, especially during this traumatic time.”

The bishops called the shooting “another grim reminder” that taking additional steps to prevent gun violence “cannot wait for another tragedy to happen.”

“Once again, we implore elected officials to work together, regardless of political or religious affiliation, to enact laws and provide services that will prevent the repetition of such tragedies,” they said.

Chris Hosey, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, told reporters that two of the deceased were teachers and two were students. Hosey said Gray has been charged with murder and will be prosecuted as an adult.

Apalachee High School will be closed for the rest of the week, said the superintendent, as the school district cooperates with law enforcement.

In an initial statement, the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office said authorities were dispatched to the school when officers from multiple law enforcement agencies responded to a reported active shooting that morning.

The school is located nearly 50 miles outside of Atlanta. A spokesperson for that city’s Grady Health System told CNN the hospital was treating at least one gunshot victim from the school, who was transported to them by helicopter.

Gov. Brian Kemp, R-Ga., wrote in a post on X that he has “directed all available state resources to respond to the incident at Apalachee High School.” He also urged “all Georgians to join my family in praying for the safety of those in our classrooms, both in Barrow County and across the state.”

A spokesperson for the White House said President Joe Biden has been briefed by his Homeland Security Advisor, Liz Sherwood-Randall, “on the tragic shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia and his administration will continue coordinating with federal, state, and local officials as we receive more information.”

In a statement, Biden said, “Jill and I are mourning the deaths of those whose lives were cut short due to more senseless gun violence and thinking of all of the survivors whose lives are forever changed.”

“What should have been a joyous back-to-school season in Winder, Georgia, has now turned into another horrific reminder of how gun violence continues to tear our communities apart,” Biden said. “Students across the country are learning how to duck and cover instead of how to read and write. We cannot continue to accept this as normal.”

Biden said his administration is “closely coordinating with officials at the federal, state and local level,” and he is “grateful for the first responders who brought the suspect into custody and prevented further loss of life.”

“Ending this gun violence epidemic is personal to me,” Biden said, noting he signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which he called “the most meaningful gun safety bill in decades,” as well as other executive action on gun violence.

“We’ve made significant progress, but this crisis requires even more,” he said, calling on Republicans and Democrats to work together and “pass common-sense gun safety legislation” after decades of gridlock on the issue.

“We must ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines once again, require safe storage of firearms, enact universal background checks, and end immunity for gun manufacturers,” Biden said. “These measures will not bring those who were tragically killed today back, but it will help prevent more tragic gun violence from ripping more families apart.”

The high school was in session just one month when the shooting took place.

Last year, the Catholic bishops of the Atlanta province signed a joint statement June 27, 2023, urging “decisive action” by federal and state officials to implement meaningful legislation addressing the “plague of gun violence” nationwide and locally. The bishops said the “ready accessibility of firearms presents an immediate threat to the wellbeing of children,” and called on lawmakers to prevent them “from falling into the hands of those who would carry out violent acts against children in schools, against their families or against themselves.”

Pope Francis sends condolences, prayers to the victims of the Nashville school shooting

 

Girls embrace in front of a makeshift memorial for victims by the Covenant School  (AFP or licensors)

POPE

• POPE FRANCIS
• TELEGRAM
• PRAYER
• UNITED STATES
• VIOLENCE

Pope sends condolences for victims of Nashville school shooting

Pope Francis sends a telegram to the Bishop of Nashville, and expresses his sadness for the most recent in a series of deadly school shootings to shake the United States.

By Francesca Merlo

After the most recent deadly shooting in a school in the United States, in which six people were killed, of which three were nine years old, Pope Francis has sent a telegram to the Bishop of Nashville, Joseph Mark Spalding.

In the telegram, signed by Cardinal Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, on behalf of the Holy Father, the Pope wrote how deeply saddening he was to learn of the news of this recent shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville. 

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The Pope asked the Bishop of Nashville to convey "his heartfelt condolences and the assurance of his prayers to all affected by this senseless act of violence."

He said he joins "the entire community in mourning the children and adults who died and commends them to the loving embrace of the Lord Jesus."

Finally, Pope Francis invoked "the consolation and strength of the Holy Spirit upon the grieving families and prays that they will be confirmed in their faith in the power of the Risen Lord to heal every hurt and to bring good out of unspeakable evil."

What happened?

On Monday, a 28-year-old woman entered the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, USA and opened fire, killing six people. 

According to police, the victims include three 9-year-old students: Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney and Hallie Scruggs, the daughter of the lead church pastor Chad Scruggs.

Also killed were Cynthia Peak, 61, believed to be a substitute teacher; Katherine Koonce, the 60-year-old head of the school; and, Mike Hill, a 61-year-old custodian.

The 28-year-old was allegedly under care for an emotional disorder and had legally bought seven firearms that were hidden at her home where she lived with her parents, who have stated that they felt their daughter should not own weapons.

The assailant was killed in the attack when police opened fire in self-defense. 

The attack was the 19th shooting at an American school or university in 2023 in which at least one person was wounded.