A prayer service in remembrance of victims of the Tree of Life synagogue shooting Saturday (Oct. 27) in Pittsburgh will be held at noon Tuesday (Oct. 30) in the rotunda of University of Notre Dame’s Main Building. Rabbi Karen Companez from Temple Beth-El in South Bend will lead the service, including the lighting of candles for each victim. Imam Mohammad Sirajuddin of South Bend and Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., Notre Dame’s president, will offer closing remarks.
After the service, the bells of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart will toll for 15 minutes. In addition, Tuesday’s 5:15 Mass in the Basilica will include prayers for the victims.
All from the campus and local communities are welcome.
In the wake of the shooting, Father Jenkins issued the following statement:
“On behalf of the University of Notre Dame, I extend my deepest condolences to the families and friends of the shooting victims at Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, and to their extended family among the Jewish students, faculty and staff here at Notre Dame and in South Bend.
“A mass shooting again bloodies the American landscape, but now with the venal ingredient of anti-Semitism as a motive. On this, the Sabbath for our Catholic university, intercessions were offered today at Mass in the Basilica and at students’ residence hall chapels on behalf of the Tree of Life departed and their surviving loved ones.
“In the days ahead, Notre Dame will look for ways to mourn in solidarity with our friends and to address the venomous hatred directed at them because of their faith and identity.”