The mass shooting at a Catholic church and school in Minneapolis has reverberated across the country, and members of the Catholic community in the Mobile area say the tragedy has hit unusually close to home.
The shooting, which unfolded as students and worshippers gathered for Mass, has left congregations nationwide grappling with grief and anxiety. In Mobile, church leaders and parishioners alike said the news was difficult to process, especially given that children were caught up in the violence.
Archbishop of Mobile Thomas Rodi said the tragedy has weighed heavily on Catholics well beyond Minnesota’s borders.
“Families sent their kids to school today, presuming they were going to be fine, and then to have this tragedy; it’s just hard to hear,” Rodi said.
According to accounts of the attack, the gunman opened fire through the church’s stained-glass windows during Mass. Rodi said the fact that the violence unfolded at a Catholic school made the loss resonate deeply within the broader faith community.
“When something like this happens, it affects everyone in the country, but particularly something like this, having happened at a Catholic school, it especially affects Catholics because we’re all part of one church and part of one family,” he said.
Rodi urged the faithful to lean on prayer in the aftermath of the shooting.
“Pray to God that they will realize that God is with them even in the darkest of moments,” he said.
Even though the tragedy unfolded more than a thousand miles away, some Mobile-area Catholics said the shooting has left them uneasy about their own sense of safety during worship.
“Sometimes I think when I’m in church, that this could happen here,” one worshipper said. “It’s not good to be thinking about that during church, but you know, you can’t help it.”
Rodi acknowledged that such attacks are difficult to anticipate but said local parishes remain committed to protecting their congregations.
“We continue to strive to protect everyone in our schools from these random, senseless acts of violence,” he said.
In response to the shooting, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey ordered flags across the state, including throughout the Mobile area, to be flown at half-staff in honor of the victims. The order kept flags lowered until sunset on Aug. 31.
For many South Alabama Catholics, the days following the shooting brought continued prayer and reflection as the community processed a tragedy that, while distant geographically, struck at the heart of a shared faith.