The Archbishop delivers messages of the Annunciation to Pope Leo

The Archbishop of the Twin Cities says he recently shared letters written by Annunciation Catholic School students and their families with Pope Leo on a recent visit to Rome.

Archbishop Bernard Hebda wrote on Monday “The Weekly Word” About the first time he met Pope Leo. He was in Rome to ordain two seminarians as deacons.

“The recent meeting with Pope Leo was especially meaningful to me because I had the opportunity to give him letters written by students from the School of the Annunciation and their families, thanking him for his prayers in the wake of the shooting that occurred in their church on August 27,” Hebda wrote.

He says he has asked Pope Leo to continue his prayers for Sophia Fortuccis, other survivors who are recovering; And those “who may find it difficult to return to the Church of the Annunciation or even celebrate Mass.”

Forchase, 12, was shot in the head during the Annunciation shooting and was hospitalized for a longer period. She was in a medically induced coma after being shot and had part of her skull removed to accommodate brain swelling.

Last month, the Forchase family said they were making steady progress in their recovery. Her parents confirmed I moved from acute care to an inpatient rehabilitation program.

She is one of 30 people injured in the shooting, in addition to two children who were martyred.

In the days following the shooting, Pope Leo condemned the attack During his blessing on Sunday afternoon from his studio overlooking St. Peter’s Square.

“Our prayers are for the victims of the tragic shooting during a school mass in the American state of Minnesota,” said Liu, who was born in Chicago. “We hold in our prayers the countless children killed and injured every day around the world. Let us pray to God to stop the pandemic of weapons, large and small, that afflicts our world.”