Both Catholic and Anglican leaders in Liverpool have spoken out in an effort to assuage shock and sadness after scores of people, including children, were injured by a car ploughing into crowds celebrating the Liverpool football team clinching the Premier League title.
While a sense of stunned disbelief continues to reverberate around the city and the country, there appears reason for cautious optimism regarding the state of the victims, with all now appearing not to be in a life-threatening situation.
The day after the mass-casualty crash that occurred on 26 May, Archbishop John Sherrington was officially <a href="https://thecatholicherald.com/archbishop-sherrington-the-shadow-of-the-cross-has-fallen-again-over-liverpool/"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">installed as the tenth Archbishop of Liverpool</mark></a> and spoke about the previous day’s incident in his homily.
“The shadow of the tragic and appalling events of last night hand over the city this morning. The joy of the day has turned to deep sadness and many families are affected by the trauma of the events,” the new archbishop said.
“We pray for all those who have been injured and those working to save life in hospitals. We are grateful for the work of the emergency services.
"While we see dreadful images, I know that the people of Liverpool will unite together and be close to those who are suffering. This is part of we are. Let us pray and work to build peace together,” Sherrington added.
“This is a gift which comes at the end from Christ who said, ‘Peace be with you.’ At the same time, we gather today in the hope that the light of Christ will shine into the darkness of people’s lives, just as it pours its many colors into this great Cathedral which is often described as the ‘soul of the city’,” he said.
“This light in all its colors dispels the darkness that clouds people’s lives, takes away hope, and diminishes them,” the archbishop said.
The Assistant Anglican Bishop of Liverpool, Geoff Pearson, also addressed the incident and its fallout in comments made the following day on 27 May.
“Walking around Liverpool City Center this morning, I’m struck by the somber and subdued mood. After the mountain top experience of the Champions Parade, we have come down to a sad and violent valley,” he said.
“In the Liverpool Parish Church which is close to the terrible scenes of last evening I spoke with a man who said, ‘What kind of world are we passing on to our grandchildren?’ We looked up at the imposing cross in the church and registered where we can find hope and comfort,” he said.
“Maybe it was the collar, but many stopped me to chat and mull over what has happened. I suspect this will be true with people across Merseyside. I was glad St Nick’s was open for such questioners,” Pearson said, referring to the Anglican parish church for Liverpool.
“Alongside the big cross in the Parish Church are the figures of Mary and John. Reminding us that the Master wanted them to take care of each other. I think that must be true for people across our region. Many who will feel confused, angry – a whole of range of emotions,” he continued.
“The verse that I offer comes in John, Chapter 16, where Jesus reminds us: ‘In this world, you will have tribulation but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.’ Keep trusting and upholding all those closely impacted by the violence of Bank Holiday Monday,” the bishop said.
<em>An aerial view of Liverpool showing the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral (left) and the Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King, Liverpool, England, 19 January 2024. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images.)</em>
The captain of Liverpool FC, Virgil van Dijk, who is known to be a devout Christian, said he was giving his “thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected” on <em>Instagram</em>, adding he was “praying for a speedy recovery for everyone who suffered injuries".
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, “Liverpool stands together and the whole country stands with them.”
On Monday, 26 May, thousands of people attended a victory parade for the Liverpool football club.
Four children were among the 50-plus people injured after a car drove into a crowd at the victory parade.
Two people, including a child, were seriously hurt, while 27 people required hospital treatment. Four were initially “very ill in hospital”, Liverpool’s metro mayor said.
The incident in the football-devoted city has raised terrible echoes of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster that befell Liverpool football club and its supporters 36 years ago, when 97 fans lost their lives during an FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest when a huge and fatal crowd crush occurred.
As of the Tuesday evening, it was reported by the <em>BBC</em> that 11 individuals remained in hospital in a “stable condition” that was described as a “remarkable and hopeful” development, given the initial scale of injuries and threat to life.
There are no “major traumas” or life-threatening injuries among the victims, medical staff at Royal Liverpool University Hospital said, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/live/2025/may/28/liverpool-parade-collision-live-news-updates"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">reports</mark></a> the <em>Guardian</em>.
A 53-year-old white British man from the local area was arrested, and police are not treating the incident as terrorism.
The driver is said to have “panicked and put his foot down” after tailgating an ambulance into the busy city centre street. Latest reports indicate the driver may have been under the influence of drugs at the time.
<em>Photo: Deputy Chief Constable Chris Green leaves after visiting the scene on Water Street in Liverpool, north-west England on May 27, 2025, where a car ploughed in to crowds that had gathered on May 26 to watch an open-top bus victory parade for Liverpool's Premier League trophy parade.(Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP)</em>
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