Prince Albert diocese prays for victims of Canada stabbings

Denver Newsroom, Sep 7, 2022 / 15:30 pm

Following a stabbing spree in rural Canada that left at least 10 dead and 18 injured, the local Catholic diocese is praying for victims and first responders.

“Please keep in your prayers the victims and families who have been touched by this senseless violence and who are now grieving and struggling to cope with the loss of their loved ones,” Bishop Stephen Hero of Prince Albert wrote Sept. 6. 

The attacks were carried out Sept. 4 on the James Smith Cree Nation, an indigenous community, and in nearby Weldon, in Saskatchewan province about 40 miles southeast of Prince Albert.

A suspected perpetrator, Myles Sanderson, 32, was still at large as of Sept. 7 and is the subject of a manhunt. He was released on parole in February but had been at large unlawfully since May. Myles has had 59 prior criminal convictions.

The body of his brother Damien, who was also a suspect, was found on Sept. 5. He was stabbed to death, and police said his injuries were “not believed to be self-inflicted.”

Hero asked his clergy to offer intercessory prayers for the victims, their families, and first responders in their Masses. He added that the diocese “will circulate requests for practical assistance as these are made known.”

“May the kindness and love of so many slowly help to bring God’s light into this darkness,” he concluded, “and may we assist as we can to bring friendship and relief to those who are burdened.”