A Word of Consolation to the Victims at Annunciation Catholic School and Church
With profound sorrow of heart, I unite my prayers to those of the faithful in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, and throughout the Church, for the innocent victims of the terrible act of violence that has struck the community of Annunciation Catholic School and Church in Minneapolis. Two beloved children, only eight and ten years old, have been taken from us in this tragedy, while so many others — children and adults — have suffered grievous injury and trauma. At the very moment when they were gathered in prayer at Holy Mass, the place of God’s abiding presence, their peace was shattered by an act of unspeakable evil.
In such moments, our hearts cry out with Our Lady, standing at the foot of the Cross of her Divine Son. With her, we place our sorrowing hearts into the glorious-pierced Heart of Jesus, asking that the immeasurable and unceasing grace flowing from His Heart bring healing to all involved and strengthen us all to renew our every effort to end such violent attacks against human life. We entrust the souls of the departed to the mercy of Christ, Who said, “Let the children come to Me, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven” (Mt 19, 14) and Who prayed for those who tortured and executed Him: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Lk 23, 34). We commend the wounded, their families, and all who grieve to the maternal care of Our Lady of Sorrows, who knows intimately the anguish of such suffering, and to Saint Joseph, Protector of the Holy Church.
May the Sacred Heart of Jesus, pierced for our salvation, pour out His mercy upon the dead, His healing upon the injured, and His consolation upon every family and loved one afflicted by this tragedy. Let us, with renewed faith, pray for the conversion of hearts, that such acts of hatred may be transformed into occasions of grace, and that our nation may rediscover the path of peace found only in obedience to the law of God written upon every human heart, the law whose first precept is the safeguarding and care of human life.
Your action is key to winning the next Presidential Election.
