Pope Leo XIV responded especially swiftly to news of the shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in the US city of Minneapolis, sending his condolences not just on the same day as the tragedy but a few hours after news began to break of the terrible events.
Papal telegrams reacting to such man-made calamities or natural disasters are usually issued a day after an event occurs. Pope Leo’s message on the shooting was sent during what was the afternoon in the Vatican on 27 August and not many hours – given the time difference between Italy and the US – after the shooting had occurred around 8:30 a.m. local time in the US.
