It is with deep sorrow that I write in light of the tragic shootings that occurred this week at Annunciation Church, as well as outside Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Minneapolis, both not far from our Minneapolis Campus. These heartbreaking acts of violence have struck communities closely tied to our own. Our alumni serve on the staff at these schools, and many of their graduates have found their way to Saint Mary’s, enriching our university family with their faith, spirit, and gifts.
Our hearts are heavy for all those who have been affected. We mourn with these communities, and we stand with them in prayer, solidarity, and support.
A Mass will be offered on our Winona Campus on Friday, Aug. 29 for the victims of this violence, their families, and the faith communities in mourning. We also plan to hold a Mass on our Minneapolis Campus to pray for those most directly impacted.
In this time of grief, I ask all members of our Saint Mary’s community to unite in prayer for peace, healing, and comfort — for the victims, their families, and all those carrying the burden of this tragedy. Let us also pray for an end to violence, and that our shared faith may strengthen our resolve to be peacemakers in a world so in need of God’s love.
May Christ, the Prince of Peace, console the brokenhearted and guide us in hope.
With faith and in prayer in Christ,
Very Rev. James P. Burns, IVD, Ph.D.
President
Program Directors in Saint Mary’s Graduate School of Health and Human Services have joined local efforts to provide free grief and trauma therapy services to Annunciation church to help the parish, families, and the community. For further reflection on the recent tragedies near our Minneapolis Campus, Dr. Anthony Isacco, program director for the M.S. in Clinical Psychology, wrote a beautiful piece on grief and suffering and Catholic faith in the National Catholic Register.
