On August 27, 2025, an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old were killed in a shooting at Minneapolis’ Annunciation Catholic School. They were shot through an open window during a Mass marking the first week of class. At the time of publishing, 17 other people were being treated for injuries, with the youngest victim being 6 years old.
A litany and prayer after the Minneapolis shooting
For the children killed and the children wounded, for parents, families and all who grieve —
Lord, have mercy.
For the people of Minneapolis, shaken and afraid —
Christ, have mercy.
For healers, helpers and all who keep vigil —
Lord, have mercy.
For our nation, trapped in the epidemic of gun violence —
Christ, deliver us.
For courage to pursue the things that make for peace —
Lord, make us instruments of your peace.
Holy Savior, Prince of Peace, you wept at a tomb and gathered children in your arms.
We believe you are weeping now —
weeping with parents whose arms are empty,
with siblings who cannot comprehend absence,
with our Catholic neighbors numb with shock.
Hold the dead in your mercy.
Hold the wounded in your healing.
Hold the terrified in your tenderness.
Forgive us, God, for our numbness, our quick forgetting, our resignation to violence as “just the way things are.”
Deliver us from our excuses, that we may choose the labor of peace:
to protect children, to confront powers profiting from weapons and fear,
to build a more just society where all your children can flourish.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy. Amen.
