AN INTERFAITH service in memory of the 14 people killed in the New Year’s Day terrorist attack in New Orleans, in the United States, was attended by President Biden.
The service was held on Sunday in St Louis Roman Catholic Cathedral. Faith leaders in attendance included the Episcopalian Bishop of Louisiana, the Rt Revd Shannon Rogers Duckworth, who described it as “an extraordinarily beautiful and moving service”.
Candles were lit for each of the victims, who were killed when a lone attacker, named as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, rammed his car into largely young partygoers celebrating the New Year. He was shot at the scene by police. One of the victims has been named as a British citizen, Edward Pettifer, a stepson of a former nanny to the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex.
“We know what it’s like to lose a piece of our soul,” President Biden told the families of the victims. “The anger, the emptiness, the black hole that seems to be sucking you into your chest, the sense of loss, the questions of faith in your soul.
“I promise you, the day will come, when the memory of your loved one will bring a smile to your lips before a tear to your eye. My prayer is that that day comes sooner rather than later, but it will come, and when it does, you might find purpose in your pain,” the President said.
The RC Archbishop of New Orleans, the Most Revd Gregory Aymond, told the gathering that the attack “was not just a wound to New Orleans. It was a wound to our nation, to our world, and to our search for freedom. For those of you who have lost loved ones, we cannot possibly imagine your pain, your feeling of loss, the wounds in your heart that remain today, and will remain,” he said.
“But we can assure you that God embraces you in love in the midst of your sorrow, and helps you to wipe your tears, for you do not do that alone.”
In a letter to her diocese on Sunday, Bishop Rogers Duckworth said: “I weep, and I pray, and I know my grief and actions are not alone. Our shared tears are many, and so is the number of our prayers.
“We join in prayer with all those who are affected by this tragedy — those who have lost loved ones, those who are wounded, and those who are living in fear. As it says in the Book of Psalms: ‘The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit’ (Psalm 3.18). May the brokenhearted find comfort, and may all who are grieving be held in the embrace of God’s eternal love.
“And, as Episcopalians, our Baptismal Covenant calls us forward. We are urged to not respond in anger or retribution but in love, justice, and the pursuit of peace. As Christians, we are called to be a beacon of hope and healing in a broken world, as Jesus taught us.”
She asked congregations to pray each Sunday in January for the victims and for the rebuilding of hope, in a “faithful response to the tragedy”.
The Pope said that he was “deeply saddened” by the loss of life. In a telegram sent to Archbishop Aymond, he assured the city of his “spiritual closeness”. He commended the victims to “the loving mercy of Almighty God”.