Archbishop Hebda prays for community's peace, fortitude, consolation after school shooting

RICHFIELD, Minn. (OSV News) -- Hugs and tears preceded a service the evening of Aug. 27 to mourn and pray for those killed and injured after a shooting earlier in the day at a Minneapolis Catholic elementary school.

Two children were killed, and 14 children and three adults were injured at Annunciation Church during a Mass celebrated for the adjoining school. The suspect in the shooting also died.

Identified by local media as 23-year-old Robin Westman, who formerly went by Robert , he is believed to have taken his own life in the parking lot.

The evening prayer service -- held at the Academy of Holy Angels in the Minneapolis suburb of Richfield -- included Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda and Auxiliary Bishops Kevin T. Kenney and Michael J. Izen of St. Paul and Minneapolis; Father Dennis Zehren, pastor of Annunciation; and Deacon Kevin Conneely, who ministers at Annunciation.

Family members and friends, teachers and staff from Annunciation were joined by students and staff from the academy, by Gov. Tim Walz and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and other elected officials.

Among those in the congregation was Jerry Doyle, 68, an usher at Annunciation, who said he prayed through the day as news of the shooting played out on television.

"I know most everybody at the church," said Doyle, whose two grown children are graduates of the school. "I know a lot of people that have kids that have gone there. I'm here to support and to pray because God does wonderful things when you do that," he told The Catholic Spirit, the archdiocesan newspaper.

Asked if there might be hope amid tragedy, Doyle said yes. "Because God answers prayers."

In his homily at the service, Archbishop Hebda said he wished that he could "unwind the time of this day and that we would be able to repair the great hurt that has occurred. If I had that power, I certainly would."

"But my brothers and sisters," he continued, "I'm hoping that in the absence of that, that our presence, the coming together of so many people from so many places and so many traditions would provide some support, some consolation to those who have lost loved ones in this morning's event, to those whose children or parents were injured and who are still in the hospital, to all of the young children who were there at Mass today, I hope that our prayers this evening might give them a sense that they are not alone."

The archbishop noted the outpouring of support from "our Protestant brothers and sisters" and messages received and the presence at the prayer service of representatives from the Jewish and Muslim communities. Interfaith prayer services were also planned for Aug. 28 at noon at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul and 5:30 p.m. at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis.

The archbishop said he wished he had the answers for everyone. "I don't. But I trust, brothers and sisters, that we have a God who does have those answers, a God who loves us and who is patient with us," he said.

Amid the mystery of suffering is the love of Christ, "who embraces us in our pain," the archbishop said. "Jesus did that not because he loves pain, but because he loves us. He loves all of those children who were in that church this morning. He loves their families. He loves the shooter.

"He loves all of us, brothers and sisters. And it was out of that love that he, on that day of the Annunciation, took on human flesh, took flesh in Mary's womb, so that he could be with us in moments like we're experiencing this evening, moments of great pain, of great puzzlement. Nobody has the right words this evening, but we know that we have a God who loves us and who is with us even as we suffer."

The archbishop noted that words inscribed in capitalized letters at the entry to the now-desecrated Annunciation church are: "The house of God and the gate of heaven."

"How is it that such a terrible tragedy could take place, in a place that's the house of God and the gate of heaven?" the archbishop asked. "It's unthinkable. It's unthinkable. But we, brothers and sisters, trust that it's precisely in that house of God where we're most at home, where indeed we are able to find hope."

The angel said to Mary at the Annunciation, "For nothing will be impossible for God," the archbishop said.

"I'm praying this evening, brothers and sisters, that our God will indeed do the impossible," Archbishop Hebda said. "That he will bring healing into the lives of those who are forever changed from this morning, that he would cleanse the memories of the innocent children of Annunciation school, cleanse the memories of the teachers and pastor and deacon and staff who were all present, the parishioners who were there, and that indeed he will help them, and all of us, to trust in his son Jesus, who knew unmerited suffering and who died for all of us."

While the inscription tells of the house of God and the gate of heaven, a statue of Mary is also at the entry to the church, the archbishop said.

"The example of Mary, a mother and a disciple who knew great suffering in her own life, should give each of us courage and hope. If we're willing to reach out in love to our sisters and brothers in need, we too can make a dwelling place for God, right here in the Twin Cities," the archbishop said.

The archbishop closed by reading from a telegram he received from the Vatican expressing Pope Leo XIV's condolences and prayers and imparting his apostolic blessing for peace, fortitude and consolation to Annunciation, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and the greater Twin Cities area.

"My prayer for you, my brothers and sisters, is that you might experience that peace, that fortitude and that consolation that Pope Leo desires for each one of us."