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SOUTH WINDSOR – The evening following the horrific shooting at Hartford Distributors in Manchester, stunned friends, family members, co-workers and others packed St. Margaret Mary Church to pray.
They prayed for the victims, they prayed for the victims’ families, they prayed for the shooter, they prayed for the first responders.
Archbishop Henry J. Mansell presided at the service, the first of several interfaith liturgies and events that brought people together to mourn, seek comfort and remember. In the days that followed, five of the eight victims would be laid to rest following services in churches in the Archdiocese.
The gunman, 34-year-old Omar Thornton, committed suicide shortly after opening fire at the warehouse. Killed in the gunfire were: Bryan Cirigliano, 51; Victor James, 59; Craig Pepin, 50; Edwin Kennison Jr, 49; Doug Scrutin, 56; William Ackerman, 50; Louis Felder Jr., 50; and Fran Fazio Jr., 57.
Father Daniel J. Sullivan, Pastor of St. Margaret Mary, celebrated the Mass. He was a longtime friend of Mr. Pepin, whom he described as an active parishioner. He described Mr. Pepin as a deeply spiritual man.
According to Father Sullivan, the morning of the shooting, when Mr. Pepin saw the gun, he yelled for co-workers to get out through the back of the building. It was then that the gunman ran up to Mr. Pepin and shot him in the head.
“I’m sure he tried to stop the man from reaching those who were going out the door,” said Father Sullivan. “I have a feeling he would have been praying for the gunman during the shooting.
“Some might say Craig is a hero; I consider him a saint,” he said.
In his homily, Father Sullivan described tragic death, which is almost always sudden, as being like a blackout.
“One minute the sun is shining; the next minute is dark night. Without the slightest warning or the chance to prepare ourselves, we are plunged into the darkness. In the span of a moment our whole world is turned upside down.
“We feel lost, helpless, maybe even frightened; most likely we are angry,” he said.
“Nothing can prepare us for something like this,” he said, reminding the emotional congregation that even in the most difficult situations, no one is asked to bear a cross that he or she cannot carry.
Father Sullivan spoke of evil and tragedy being all around us and the tendency to say [that] it is the will of God.
“Let me be perfectly clear, God would not will this tragedy. No earthly father would,” he said.
He talked of individual freewill, the need to make right choices, and our call to love our neighbors as ourselves. He also spoke of hope and everlasting life.
Archbishop Mansell also addressed those assembled for the memorial service, which began just hours after he left the 128th Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus in Washington, D.C.
‘The time of tragic death, is a time to recall the principals of our faith,” said Archbishop Mansell.
“Pray for families, friends, and co-workers,” he said. “Remember the goodness of those who have come before us. Remember goodness in the face of evil and in the face of tragedy – remember that there is something more. There is hope for us all.”
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