A community gathers for the first weekend of Masses after Minneapolis shooting as questions remain

CNN Father Dennis Zehren struggled to hold back tears as he addressed his Minneapolis congregation drawing on Jesus parable of humility to reflect the locality s grief after last week s deadly shooting Jesus says sit with me in this low place the Annunciation Catholic Church pastor narrated the packed auditorium on Saturday just days after a shooter fired through the church s stained-glass windows at students in prayer The Mass held in the school auditorium just attempts away from the parish s now-closed sanctuary marked the first such gathering for the congregation since the attack The church that three days before was filled with excited students and watchful teachers at the start of a new school year is now a crime scene This is not our normal seat this is not where we usually gather this is not our usual worship place Zehren announced as he joined his parishioners in turning to prayer music and shared silence in a room overflowing with both people and grief The shooting left two children dead -year-old Fletcher Merkel and -year-old Harper Moyski and wounded others including students and three elderly parishioners It will never be the same but it s a call to begin again Zehren revealed Outside the church a memorial of flowers stuffed animals and signs grew A note from Fletcher s mother read I love you invariably and forever A long road to healing Zehren mentioned the tragedy has brought an outpouring of advocacy from around the world We will be sitting in a different pew for a long time to come he mentioned urging parishioners to seek mental medical support as they begin to heal from something far beyond what we ve experienced before Police identified the now-deceased shooter as a -year-old former Annunciation trainee whose mother once worked at the parish Investigators are still searching for a motive With classes suspended children have already lost cherished traditions such as Spirit Day and a butterfly release The sanctuary is now missing the familiar sounds of hymns and the children s voices that once echoed through its halls Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O Hara described the attack as slaughter noting the shooter was standing outside of the building firing through very narrow church windows on the level where they would line up with the pews Ten-year-old Weston Halsne recalled he was two seats away from the windows when the shots rang out and his friend dove on top of him saving him but getting hit in the back He s really brave Families mourn and call for change Outside the church Saturday Jesse Merkel Fletcher s father mourned the loss of his son We will never be allowed to hold him talk to him play with him and watch him grow into the wonderful young man he was on the path to becoming he declared While the hole in our hearts and lives will never be filled I hope that in time our family can find healing Merkel stated holding back tears He solicited the society to remember Fletcher for the person he was a boy who loved his family and friends fishing cooking and any sport that he was allowed to play and not the act that ended his life Harper Moyski s parents described their daughter as bright joyful and deeply loved urging leaders to take meaningful action to address gun violence and the mental robustness dilemma in this country Change is workable and it is necessary so that Harper s story does not become yet another in a long line of tragedies they mentioned As a family we are shattered and words cannot capture the depth of our pain Among the wounded Endre Gunter survived surgery after being shot twice Yet we still have our child Unlike others we are fortunate to hold onto him announced Endre s mother Danielle Gunter He demonstrated strength and faith beyond his years his aunt declared as he recovers surrounded by loved ones Father Zehren encourages hope through faith at Sunday Mass Reflecting on scripture passages about humility Zehren called on the congregation to cling to their faith during Sunday s Mass in the school auditorium Jesus says Just be with me in this lowest place And we re afraid the priest mentioned That was the very same message when that first bullet came through the window and the voices cried out Down get down Get to the lowest place and stay down It was hard We didn t want to be there Now looking back more than ever we know that that s where Jesus was Zehren continued He revealed through faith it is clear that evil does not win in the end When we hear that voice of Jesus a little light starts to dawn So that s what we wait for now and that s what we welcome We welcome the dawn of a new day Here at Annunciation we welcome the light of a new day Zehren explained There is no darkness that God can t bring life from There s no sorrow that God can t spring happiness from There s no grieving that Jesus can t bring comfort to and there s no dying that Jesus can t raise to new life he stated Zehren called the population police and first responders a rock underneath us And they will continue to be a rock for us There s so multiple people who will be continuing to hold up our hands in prayer the children the families they will continue to be a rock underneath us he revealed Harper and Fletcher will invariably be the rock underneath us Pope Leo calls for end to pandemic of arms While offering prayers for the casualties of the shooting at Annunciation Sunday Pope Leo XIV made his first masses comments on gun control since ascending to the papacy Let us plead to God to stop the pandemic of arms large and small which infects our world the Chicago-born pontiff reported the crowd in St Peter s Square following the weekly Sunday Angelus prayer The first American pope speaking in his native English disclosed he was offering prayers for the casualties of the tragic shooting during a school Mass in the American state of Minnesota and for the countless children who are killed and injured every day Hearts beyond online fundraisers Locality members in Minneapolis say they are finding means to assistance casualties of the senseless tragedy but that online fundraisers are purely not enough stated CNN affiliate WCCO Residents are supporting casualties by tying blue and green ribbons on street poles and distributing yard signs reading Our hearts are with Annunciation Linda Nucci who organized the signs stated You want to take that vigor or that grief and figure out what you can do with it When anything like this happens you just want to feel useful You want to take that ability or that grief or that you know uncomfortability and figure out what can you do with it Nucci announced Sarah Henning another public member leading memorial efforts across the city communicated the outlet that contributors helped her group tie nearly ribbons on street poles and trees We were able to get ribbons into Fletcher s neighborhood the previous 24 hours and we ve had several neighbors reach out about what that meant she explained WCCO I want them to experience unbelievable love after unbelievable tragedy Henning noted That s why we re doing it CNN s Christopher Lamb Leigh Waldman Sara Smart and Chris Boyette contributed to this summary