A Catholic school in Long Beach held a Mass of reparation Feb. 3, drawing students, families, and parishioners back into a space that had been ransacked and desecrated about 24 hours earlier.
Holy Innocents School was discovered vandalized early Feb. 2, with statues of the Virgin Mary broken, audio equipment damaged, and the tabernacle thrown to the floor, as Zeale News previously reported. The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division said it would “open an investigation into this awful crime.”
Angelus News, the newspaper for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, reported the Mass of reparation was celebrated inside the school gym after volunteers worked overnight to clean and restore the area sufficiently for worship.
Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop Marc Trudeau, who serves the San Pedro Pastoral Region, began the Mass by blessing the altar and surrounding space with holy water. Afterward, clergy led a Eucharistic procession through streets surrounding the school.
“People who are broken tend to break things,” Bishop Trudeau said during his homily. “And healing is necessary. We can’t look at them or demonize them as terrible people. Because God sees us all as his children, worthy of redemption, worthy of mercy. So we call on our Blessed Mother to help us to be like her Son, bringing healing and forgiveness to all who need it.”
Kiernan Fiore, the school’s director of academics, said she told students, “What happened here happens because there’s darkness inside someone that they’re carrying with them. We don't know who they are, what their story is, but you have the choice to not carry that kind of darkness, and instead to carry light. You can turn to our Lord right now.”
School officials said holding the Mass so soon after the vandalism had initially seemed impossible. Principal Cyril Cruz told Angelus News that the extent of the damage led staff to cancel daily Mass on Feb. 2 and notify police.
By the end of that day, however, parents, teachers, alumni, and parish volunteers had cleaned the hall and restored seating and kneelers. A GoFundMe launched to support repairs had raised more than $100,000, Angelus News reported.
Following the Mass, school leaders said they emphasized returning students to routine and helping them respond through prayer rather than fear.
“The upsetting thing is this is a school,” Trudeau said. “It upsets the lives of the children. They feel violated. That’s why we wanted to get back to their normal schedule, their normal routine as soon as possible.”