Pope Leo XIV called gun violence a “pandemic of arms” as he publicly prayed for the victims of the fatal shooting at Annunciation Church and Catholic School in Minneapolis.

The Pope, who is the first in history to come from the U.S., addressed the Wednesday shooting in a weekly public prayer in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City on Sunday.

“Let us plead God to stop the pandemic of arms large and small which infects our world,” the Pope said during the prayer.

He went on to pray for “the victims of the tragic shooting during a school Mass in the American state of Minnesota” and the “countless children killed and injured everyday around the world.”

Annunciation Catholic Church held its first Mass since the shooting on Saturday. Father Dennis Zehren, who was also leading Mass when the sho

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