Pope Leo XIV expressed his sorrow following a devastating 6.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Afghanistan’s eastern region, which killed hundreds and injured thousands.

Recalling the fear and the cries from students, parents and school staff to “get low, stay down, stay down, don’t get up” as bullets tore through Annunciation church at an all-school Mass in Minneapolis, Father Dennis Zehren, the pastor, said it marked a new beginning.

For the first time since the Aug. 27 attack by a shooter who killed two children and wounded at least 21 more victims at an all-school Mass where he was presiding at Annunciation Catholic Church, Father Dennis Zehren publicly described his attempt to save the children.

A funeral Mass will be held Sept. 4 for Sister of Mercy Ruth Handren. Sister Ruth, formerly known as Sister Mary Scholastica, had been a Sister of Mercy for 81 years. She died Aug. 27 at Mercy Springwell retirement home. She was 104.

Pope Leo XIV, praying publicly for the victims of the school shooting in Minneapolis, also prayed for an end to the “pandemic” of gun violence.