The families of Annunciation Catholic School have received a very special message and blessing from Pope Leo XIV following the tragedy that unfolded earlier Wednesday as the student body attended a Mass marking the start of the new school year. At least two students from the Minneapolis school are reported dead and scores of others injured following what looks to be a targeted mass shooting by a young man who identified as a female.
The telegram from Rome to the families was transmitted through Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's secretary of state, to Archbishop Bernard Hebda, who leads the Archdiocese of Minneapolis and St. Paul. In his message, the pope extended his "heartfelt condolences" for those families who lost children, and assured all those affected of his "spiritual closeness."
Pope Leo has sent a telegram this evening mourning the fatal attack on a Catholic Church in Minneapolis today.@Pontifex gives his Apostolic Blessing to the school community, the Archdiocese and the surrounding area. pic.twitter.com/6t4JSWi9uP
— Michael Haynes 🇻🇦 (@MLJHaynes) August 27, 2025
THE MOST REVEREND BERNARD HEBDA
ARCHBISHOP OF SAINT PAUL AND MINNEAPOLIS
HIS HOLINESS POPE LEO XIV WAS PROFOUNDLY SADDENED TO LEARN OF THE LOSS OF LIFE AND INJURIES FOLLOWING THE SHOOTING THAT TOOK PLACE AT ANNUNCIATION CHURCH IN MINNEAPOLIS, AND HE SENDS HIS HEARTFELT CONDOLENCES AND THE ASSURANCE OF SPIRITUAL CLOSENESS TO ALL THOSE AFFECTED BY THIS TERRIBLE TRAGEDY, ESPECIALLY THE FAMILIES NOW GRIEVING THE LOSS OF A CHILD. WHILE COMMENDING THE SOULS OF THE DECEASED CHILDREN TO THE LOVE OF ALMIGHTY GOD, HIS HOLINESS PRAYS FOR THE WOUNDED AS WELL AS THE FIRST RESPONDERS, MEDICAL PERSONNEL AND CLERGY WHO ARE CARING FOR THEM AND THEIR LOVED ONES. AT THIS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TIME, THE HOLY FATHER IMPARTS TO THE ANNUNCIATION CATHOLIC SCHOOL COMMUNITY, THE ARCHDIOCESE OF SAINT PAUL AND MINNEAPOLIS AND THE PEOPLE OF THE GREATER TWIN CITIES METROPOLITAN AREA HIS APOSTOLIC BLESSING AS A PLEDGE OF PEACE, FORTITUDE AND CONSOLATION IN THE LORD JESUS.
CARDINAL PIETRO PAROLIN
SECRETARY OF STATE
In relaying his condolences and good wishes to the Catholics of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Pope Leo also imparted an apostolic blessing on the community. An apostolic blessing is an indulgence extended by the pope to those near death; it's a sort of last rites from afar, and is sure to be of great comfort to those who are mourning the loss of their children or whose loved one was injured.
MORE: New: Alleged Minnesota Gunman ID'd, With Disturbing Videos Linked to Him
As RedState reported earlier Wednesday, the perpetrator of the mass shooting has been identified as 23-year-old Robert Westman, who legally changed his name to the more feminine "Robin" at the request of his mother when he was still a minor. Westman appears to have left a treasure trove of incriminating evidence, including a long video posted to his YouTube page in which he thumbs through his "manifesto" and shows the camera his cache of weapons, many marked with far-left slogans.
There's also evidence emerging that Westman's mother once worked for Annunciation Catholic Church, the site of Wednesday's massacre.
This is fast-moving story, and RedState will be bringing you all the latest developments.
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