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Archbishop Bernard Hebda of St. Paul-Minneapolis. / Credit: Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis

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

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.

"The loss of life on that occasion was horrific and the impact on students, teachers, and their families traumatizing," Hebda said, adding: "I asked Pope Leo for his continued prayers for Sophia Forchas and the other survivors who continue their recovery, and especially his prayers for those who might find it difficult to return to Annunciation Church or even to the celebration of Mass."

Forchas, 12, was shot in the head during the attack and remains in an inpatient rehabilitation program after having been moved from critical care in September, according to an update from her parents on their GoFundMe. 

"Most of us would agree that the horror of the Aug. 27 shooting was magnified by the fact that it took place in the context of Mass, that most sacred of gatherings for our Catholic community," Hebda continued. "It's at the Mass where we come together to join in Jesus' offering of himself to the Father and where we have the opportunity to be nourished by God's word and the Eucharist. Like all of our churches, Annunciation is sacred because it has been set apart for divine worship. That's clear from the very inscription we find on the façade: 'This Is the House of God and the Gate of Heaven.'"

Hebda's meeting with Leo took place during the archbishop's visit to Rome for the ordination of two seminarians as deacons. 

St. Paul Seminary posted a video of the archbishop with Leo, writing: "Our very own shepherd Archbishop Hebda had the great honor to meet Pope Leo XIV during his recent visit to Rome!"

Hebda can be seen in the video holding a folder while speaking with the Holy Father in St. Peter's Square. 

The archdiocese did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

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