Fr. David Convertino, OFM
Executive Director of Development
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
The tragic shooting at Annunciation Catholic School on August 27, 2025, has punctured our hearts, left two children dead, seventeen others wounded, and a community hiding under pews while gathered at the table of the Lord.
In moments like these, I look to the Peace Prayer of St. Francis—not as a platitude, but as a challenge. A call to do something and act differently.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
We may feel helpless and speechless, but we must be neither! In the face of this horrible violence, we are called to be instruments—voices for peace, healing, and justice. Peace is not passive or quiet. It is something we must build together, even when the world seems to crumble around us.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
This act of violence was seeded in hate—racism, antisemitism, anti-Catholic rhetoric. We must not allow this kind of venom to spread unchecked. Our faith demands that we respond not with more hate, but with courageous love that stands up and speaks out against those who spread this anti-Gospel rubbish.
Where there is injury, pardon.
The wounds in Minneapolis are deep, both physical and spiritual. Families are mourning. Children are afraid. Teachers and parishioners are traumatized. Our response must begin with tenderness, accompaniment, and long-term support. This healing will take years—and these families need to know that they have the support of a healing community that hopes to make this tragedy a way toward changes in our national daily life.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Reality: tragedies like this shake our faith to its very core. Tragedies like this exhaust us with their repetition and almost sick sense of normality in our country. But faith is not just the absence of fear; it is the courage to take action. St. James tells us faith with no action is dead. Thoughts and prayers are not nearly enough. Our faith must move us to help make change happen so this kind of tragedy never happens again.
Where there is despair, hope.
Despair can make us feel that events like these are normal. They are not. They must never be. The lost lives of the children at Annunciation School must be a turning point. It must lead to action —through prayer, through advocacy, through insistence that common-sense gun policies and hate prevention are not optional behaviors, but essential to community life. We have said all this when these tragedies have taken place before. We cannot let Annunciation simply be added to the rest of the list of horrific gun tragedies.
Where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.
As Franciscans, we believe the light is always stronger than the darkness. There is always more good than evil. Even at Annunciation. Even now. But only if our communal light breaks through the darkness of bigotry, racism and prejudice.
The Peace Prayer is not just something we pray—it must be a way of life.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Sisters and Brothers, let this mass shooting be a turning point, for the children, for the Church, and for all of us.
Fr. David, OFM