Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 21, 2025 / 16:56 pm

Archbishop Bernard Hebda of St. Paul-Minneapolis delivered letters from victims of the Annunciation School shooting to Pope Leo XIV during a recent visit to Rome.

The letters from students and their family members thanked Leo for his prayers in wake of the deadly shooting that claimed two lives and injured dozens more on Aug. 27, according to a newsletter posted by Hebda on Oct. 20 .

Hebda said the opportunity to deliver the letters to Leo had made their first meeting Oct. 2 “particularly meaningful” for him.

“Our prayers for the victims of the tragic shooting during a school Mass in the American state of Minnesota,” Leo had said on Aug. 31 after leading the weekly Angelus prayer from a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.

“Th

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