LITTLETON, Colo.—In the days following the murderous rampage of two heavily armed students at Columbine High School, a stunned city and nation drew encouragement from reports of heroism and faith that emerged in the wake of the tragedy.

On April 22 more than 1,200 people who gathered for a prayer service at St. Frances Cabrini Church in Littleton erupted into cheers and applause as Father Kenneth Leone, pastor, and Frank DiAngelis, principal of Columbine, addressed the crowd.

Archbishop Charles Chaput presided at the same church April 25 at the funeral Mass for three of the student victims. Five of the shooting victims were Catholics.

Father Leone told the story of the near-martyrdom of Valerie Schnurr, an 18-year-old senior:

Schnurr was in the library at Columbine when the heavily armed students entered and opened fire. She was hit by a shotgun blast fired at point-blank range. As her assailant stood over her, she began to pray.

“Do you believe in God?” asked the young man, a member of a neo-Nazi group known as the trench coat mafia.

Without hesitation, Schnurr replied, “Yes, I do.”

Staring at her, the young man began to reload his weapon. Schnurr was certain he intended to kill her, but he became distracted and left her alone. The two assailants, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, would later commit suicide in the library, but not before killing 13 and injuring 23, police said.

The shotgun blast missed all of Schnurr’s vital organs. She was scheduled to be released from Swedish Medical Center in Denver by the following weekend.

During the prayer service April 22, students and friends also remembered Dave Sanders, a longtime coach and teacher, who put himself in the line of fire while shepherding at least 100 students to safety. He was gunned down while saving the lives of the others, authorities said.

School principal DiAngelis, a St. Frances Cabrini parishioner, was asked to speak at the service.

“I feel so sorry and almost want to apologize for all the grief that has descended on our community,” said DiAngelis. “But I realize that the good Lord would not give us anything that we could not handle.

“I’m not sure why things happen. But they happen for a reason — this has unified our community and has unified our school. I have always bragged about how great Columbine High School is, and it is still a great high school.”

In measured and forceful words, DiAngelis then added, “This tragedy is not going to diminish what we have built over the past 25 years,” to which the assembly rose to its feet and broke into applause.

When it was announced that the firefighters and paramedics who were part of the rescue operation had joined the gathering and were standing in the back of church, the congregation sprang to its feet to give them an ear-splitting round of applause.

Archbishop Chaput spent the days following the shooting presiding at prayer services, visiting injured students and spending time with the families of those who had been killed. In a column planned for the Denver Catholic Register, he wrote:

“As time passes, we need to make sense of the Columbine killings. The media are already filled with ‘sound bites’ of shock and disbelief; psychologists, sociologists, grief counselors and law enforcement officers — all with their theories and plans. God bless them for it. We certainly need help. Violence is now pervasive in American society — in our homes, our schools, on our streets, in our cars as we drive home from work, in the news media, in the rhythms and lyrics of our music, in our novels, films and video games. It is so prevalent that we have become largely unconscious of it. But, as we discover in places like the hallways of Columbine High, it is bitterly, urgently real.”

Pope John Paul II and former Denver archbishop, Cardinal J. Francis Stafford, sent messages of condolence in the hours following the shooting.

“His Holiness Pope John Paul II has been deeply shocked by news of the terrible tragedy which has caused many deaths and injuries at a school near Denver and he asks you to convey to the families and school community the assurance of his prayerful closeness at this difficult time,” the Pope said in a message conveyed by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Vatican secretary of state.

In his message, Cardinal Stafford stated, “Upon hearing the news, I went to St. Peter’s Basilica to ask for his intercession for the surviving young people of the high school, especially the wounded, and for the families of the students. Be assured of my deep communion with you in prayer and solidarity with the people of Colorado.”

Peter Droege is the editor of

the Denver Catholic Register.