Annunciation Catholic Church holds first Mass after shooting
Annunciation Catholic Church holds first Mass after shooting
In the first Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church since the deadly shooting, Father Dennis Zehren, pastor, recalled the tragedy of that day and preached on the hope brought by Jesus amid the darkness.
Fr. Zehren celebrated the weekend Mass in the auditorium, rather than in the main chapel where the shooting occurred during Mass Aug. 27 , according to the Austin Daily Herald.
The Daily Herald reports that Fr. Zehren acknolweged the changed location, and said, “We are in a lower place than we could have ever imagined.”
The Gospel for the Sunday Mass was about Jesus calling people to sit at a lower place at the table. Fr. Zehren reflected both on this passage and on what the congregation experienced on the morning of the shooting.
“Jesus says, ‘Can you just sit with me here in the dust for a while? Sit with me here, in this low place?’” Fr. Zehren said in the homily, according to a video clip posted by CBS News.
“And that was the very first message we heard on Wednesday morning when that first bullet came through the window and the voices cried out, ‘Down, down. Get low. Stay down. Stay down. Don’t get up,’” Fr. Zehren said, his voice breaking.
Father Dennis Zehren was leading Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church last Wednesday, welcoming students of the adjoining Catholic school to a new academic year, when he says “that first bullet came through the window.” Twenty people were shot, mostly schoolchildren, and two of… pic.twitter.com/OmziofbDHi
— CBS News (@CBSNews) September 1, 2025
Fr. Zehren said, according to the Daily Herald, “We just had to sit there in that lowest place with Jesus for a while.”
But amid the darkness, Jesus offers a light to the people, he continued.
“It’s a new light,” Fr. Zehren said. “The light of a new day is breaking, and that’s what we do now, at Annunciation, we watch for that light of a new day.”
Fr. Zehren also said in a recent video message that many people have been coming to the church to pray and to offer tribute to Harper Moyski and Fletcher Merkel, the two children who lost their lives in the attack. In the message, Fr. Zehren also thanked those who have been praying for the mourning community.
Father Dennis Zehren, pastor of Annunciation Church and School—where children Fletcher and Harper were tragically killed during Mass and 18 others were injured—expressed his gratitude for the prayers offered for the children and for all those who are suffering.
— Sachin Jose (@Sachinettiyil) September 1, 2025
Video:… pic.twitter.com/L60lPo9IqT
“Thank you for your prayers for the families of Fletcher and Harper, and for the children who are still recovering in the hospital, and for all the families who are still recovering in so many ways,” he said. “You’ve been a true strength to us and we’re grateful for all the love you’re bringing our way.”
