OTTAWA (CCN) — Joining religious leaders around the United States and the world, including Pope Leo XIV, the president of the Canadian bishops conference has expressed “the profound closeness of the Church in Canada” to those grieving the Aug. 27 deadly shooting at a Minnesota Catholic church.
Two children who attended Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis were killed, and 14 children and three adults were injured in the shooting at Annunciation Church during a Mass celebrated for the adjoining school. The suspect, identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, also died. He is believed to have taken his own life in the parking lot.
Bishop William McGrattan of Calgary, president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, sent a letter to Archbishop Bernard Hebda of Minneapolis–St. Paul after the shooting, expressing the Canadian Church’s closeness “to the grieving students, families, teachers, and parishioners of Annunciation Parish and School,” as well as the archdiocese’s faithful.
“It is especially heartbreaking that children, their pastor, and teachers were targeted as they gathered joyfully for the new school year for the celebration of the Eucharist,” Bishop McGrattan said in his letter.
Canadian Catholics are asked to pray for the repose of those who died, the recovery of the injured, “and for the comfort and healing for the entire community affected by this senseless act of violence.”
Pope Leo XIV joined his brother bishops and fellow Americans in expressing condolences following the shooting. In a telegram to Hebda, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, said the pontiff was “profoundly saddened to learn of the loss of life and injuries following the shooting that took place at Annunciation Church in Minneapolis, and he sends his heartfelt condolences and the assurance of spiritual closeness to all those affected by this terrible tragedy, especially the families now grieving the loss of a child.”
“While commending the souls of the deceased children to the love of Almighty God, His Holiness prays for the wounded as well as the first responders, medical personnel, and clergy who are caring for them and their loved ones,” the telegram said. “At this extremely difficult time, the Holy Father imparts to the Annunciation Catholic School community, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, and the people of the greater Twin Cities metropolitan area his apostolic blessing as a pledge of peace, fortitude, and consolation in the Lord Jesus.”
