One year ago today, a Catholic school community gathered for what should have been one of the most ordinary and beautiful moments of the new school year: the celebration of Holy Mass.
Instead, the morning of Aug. 27, 2025, became a day of unimaginable sorrow.
Students from Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis were attending an all-school Mass at the Church of the Annunciation when a gunman opened fire through the church windows. Two children, 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel and 10-year-old Harper Moyski, were killed. Many other children and adults were wounded, while hundreds of students, teachers, parents, clergy and first responders were left carrying memories that would not disappear when the church doors closed.
Today, Aug. 27, 2026, the Catholic community remembers.
We remember Fletcher and Harper first—not simply as victims of an act of violence, but as beloved children whose lives were infinitely precious in the eyes of God.
We remember their parents, siblings, classmates and friends, for whom an anniversary like this is not merely a date on a calendar. It is another day of living with an absence that cannot be filled.
We remember the children who were wounded and those who witnessed terrible violence in a place where they had come to pray.
And we remember the teachers, parish staff, clergy, medical workers and first responders who protected children, treated the injured, comforted frightened families and remained beside a community experiencing profound grief.
Faith in the Midst of Sorrow
There is something especially painful about the fact that the violence happened during Mass.
A church is a sanctuary. For Catholics, it is where families gather before God, where Scripture is proclaimed and where Christ becomes sacramentally present in the Holy Eucharist.
The violence of that morning violated a place dedicated to worship and peace. Archbishop Bernard Hebda said in the hours after the shooting that his heart was broken as he thought of the students, teachers, clergy and parishioners who had witnessed such horror in a church—a place where people should feel safe. He asked the faithful to pray that God’s healing would be poured out upon the families and everyone present at the Mass.
Yet the violence did not have the final word.
Stories soon emerged of children protecting one another, adults rushing to help the wounded and students turning instinctively toward prayer. One wounded 13-year-old boy, preparing for surgery after being shot twice, asked his doctor to pray with him. His simple request became one small but powerful witness to faith amid suffering.
It did not erase what happened.
Faith does not ask us to pretend that evil is less terrible than it is. Christianity gives us permission to mourn. Jesus Himself wept at the tomb of Lazarus.
But Christians also believe that death does not have the last word.
Christ entered into human suffering, carried the Cross and conquered death through His Resurrection. That promise does not remove grief, but it changes the horizon beyond it.
“Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.” — Matthew 5:4
A Community Still Healing
A year later, Annunciation remains a community in healing.
The parish and school are marking this anniversary with remembrance, prayer and service. Annunciation has encouraged people to honor the day by serving others and performing acts of kindness. The wider Minneapolis community is also observing a day of service and remembrance, while the parish continues supporting those affected through its Hope and Healing Fund.
That response carries a deeply Christian message.
Evil seeks to destroy. Love rebuilds.
Violence isolates. Christian charity draws people together.
Hatred wounds. Mercy tends the wounds.
And while nothing can undo what happened on August 27, 2025, the response to that tragedy can continue to testify that darkness does not possess the final victory.
As this anniversary approached, Archbishop Hebda encouraged Catholics to become “beacons of light,” while the Annunciation community has continued to find hope through faith, service and care for one another.
Today, We Pray
On this solemn anniversary, Catholics everywhere can pause and pray.
We pray for Fletcher Merkel and Harper Moyski, entrusting them to the mercy and love of God.
We pray for their families, asking the Lord to remain especially close to them today.
We pray for every child and adult who was wounded.
We pray for those who still carry physical injuries, painful memories, fear or grief from that morning.
We pray for the students and teachers of Annunciation Catholic School and for the parishioners of the Church of the Annunciation.
We pray for the doctors, nurses, police officers, firefighters, paramedics, counselors, clergy and countless others who responded with courage and compassion.
And we pray for a world in which children may enter their schools and churches without fear.
One year later, there are wounds that remain.
There are empty places that remain empty.
There are families whose lives will forever be divided into a before and an after.
But there is also faith.
There is a community still standing beside one another.
There are prayers still being offered.
There is love that violence could not destroy.
And there is the Christian hope that one day every tear will be wiped away, death will be no more, and those separated from one another will be reunited in Christ.
Eternal rest grant unto Fletcher and Harper, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
Our Lady, Queen of Peace, pray for the Annunciation community and for us all.
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