By Kielce Gussie
During his Wednesday General Audience, Pope Leo XIV remembered the victims of the school shooting in Graz, Austria on Jun 10. He offered his prayers for the victims of the tragedy.
“My thoughts are with the families, the teachers, and the students,” the Pope said, asking God to “welcome these children into His peace.”
Early Tuesday morning, a 21-year-old former student opened fire at the Dreierschützengasse high school. 10 people, including one adult, were killed, while dozens more were injured. This is one of the worst outbreaks of violence in Austria’s modern history.
The country has declared three days of national mourning as its Chancellor, Christian Stocker, described it as “a dark day in the history of our country”, an act of “unimaginable violence” and a “national tragedy that has shocked us all.”
Several European leaders have expressed their condolences following the shooting. European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, stressed that schools should be “symbols of youth, hope and the future”, emphasizing that it is “hard to bear when schools become places of death and violence.”
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, shared her shock at the event and reiterated that “every child should feel safe at school and be able to learn free from fear and violence.” – Vatican News
