Archbishop Performs Rite of Reparation Just Over 3 Months after Tragic Shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church

🕊️ A Community Clings to Faith: Annunciation Church's Journey After Tragedy

Archbishop Bernard Hebda and Auxiliary Bishops Kevin Kenney and Michael Izen outside the main doors of Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, performed the rite of reparation on Dec. 6 that restored the space for worship. 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. Later, a Mass was celebrated with parishioners and students of Annunciation Catholic Church and School;  the first since the fatal shooting on Aug. 27. The Mass clearly demonstrated the central role of prayer in sustaining their unity, according to Archbishop Bernard Hebda on Dec. 6.

“The community has been gathering for Mass weekly, even the first weekend (after the shooting that killed two students — Harper Moyski and Fletcher Merkel — and wounded 21 other people), which had to be so difficult,” the archbishop said in an interview with Tom Halden, director of the Office of Communications in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Weekly Masses have been conducted in the old church that is connected to the school, the archbishop mentioned. “But I came many times for the evening rosary (a practice of the Minneapolis parish since the shooting) and just seeing how devoted people were to prayer.

“And so many of them had come to me and said, ‘Archbishop, when can we get back into the church? We miss adoration.’”

The archbishop spoke just hours following a special Mass and rite of reparation that formally reopened the church for worship. The devoted members of Annunciation had been welcomed by other churches for adoration of the Eucharist during the three months after the shooting, but “to be able to pray in their own Blessed Sacrament Chapel before the Eucharist was something they were hungering for,” the archbishop observed. “And to be able to do that now, I think, will be a game changer.”

The rite of reparation involves sprinkling the altar and sanctuary, the church walls, and the congregation with holy water. It was a poignant moment, the archbishop conveyed.

“I was glad to share that with the pastor, Father (Dennis) Zehren,” the archbishop stated. “But I noticed how many people wept as the holy water was falling upon them. It’s a very simple ritual, but very beautiful as well.”

During Mass, the Eucharist was placed in the tabernacle, and Deacon Kevin Conneely, who ministers at the parish, led a procession with the Eucharist into the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, the archbishop noted. Following the Mass, a reception was held for those who wished to attend.

“Our Church is so good with simple symbolism. I think that’s what I heard at the reception after the Mass,” the archbishop reflected. “People were so grateful for the opportunity to come together and to pray, and how significant it was for them to have the Eucharist again in the church, both in the adoration chapel, but then in the tabernacle in the sanctuary.

“So many times when we gathered for prayer, people would look inside the church. You could still see through the glass front windows. They were saying how painful it was not to see the sanctuary candle lit.

“Now, I think, it is a great sign of hope that Jesus is in that church,” he affirmed. “He so much wants to be with us in times of trouble, those times when we’re really tried. Jesus wants to be part of that.”

Another moving instant was Father Zehren’s emotion during the Liturgy of the Eucharist, when the archbishop, Father Tom Margevicius — the master of ceremonies for the Mass — and others at the altar laid their hands on Father Zehren’s arm in recognition of the difficult experience, the archbishop shared.

“The last time that he was in the church for Mass, it was disrupted,” Archbishop Hebda recalled. “To be back in that same space, I can’t imagine what was going through his mind. But it’s that sense of Jesus having come to die to give his body and blood to strengthen us. It’s so meaningful as we pray the prayer of consecration and particularly praying, as Father Zehren did, for the members of the community, but also for those who have died. I’m sure he very much had Harper and Fletcher in mind as he was praying those words.”

Approximately two dozen priests and deacons of the archdiocese attended the Mass. Priests were seated in the area of the church where Harper and Fletcher died, the archbishop disclosed.

“So many of the parishioners mentioned that it was significant for them,” Archbishop Hebda remarked, adding that Deacon Conneely explained to him that it was planned for the priests to be there, as one way to honor the memory of the two students.

As the Annunciation community progresses, it will be vital to understand that people are not at the same stage of recovery, “and that we want to be patient and loving of our brothers and sisters who are still really having a difficult time,” the archbishop stressed.

“I think this is going to be a long-term process to bring healing into this community, and people are going to be at different spots,” Archbishop Hebda concluded. “We want to make sure that we’re able to embrace all of them. That we continue to let all people know that they’re welcome here at this church, a church that offers hope, a church where Jesus reigns. I think that’s the way in which we’re going to move forward.”

Sources: https://www.thecatholicspirit.com/news/local-news/three-months-after-fatal-shooting-minneapolis-church-is-restored-for-worship

https://www.thecatholicspirit.com/news/local-news/archbishop-hebda-a-great-sign-of-hope-that-jesus-is-in-that-church/