New Orleans Catholics mourn victims of New Year terror attack

Pope Francis sent his condolences to Archbishop Gregory Aymond in a message on 2 January, saying he was “deeply saddened”.

Two Catholics high schools in Louisiana mourned the death of former students killed in the New Year’s Eve terrorist attack in New Orleans.

Martin “Tiger” Bech Jr, 27, and Hubert Gauthreaux, 21, were among 15 people killed when an Islamist extremist drove a truck through a crowd of people celebrating in the city’s French Quarter. The assailant was later killed in a gunfight with police.

Bech, a native of Lafayette, Louisiana, graduated from St Thomas More school in 2015 before attending Princeton University, where he played on the school football team. He was working as a stockbroker in New York City and had returned to Louisiana for the festive season. St Thomas More planned a rosary on New Year’s Day to pray for Bech and his family.

Gauthreaux graduated from Archbishop Shaw High School in the Marrero neighbourhood of New Orleans in 2021. He was working for an oil company after graduation and was celebrating the New Year with friends when he was killed. The school set up a “Go Fund Me” page to collect donations to help the family pay for funeral expenses.

In a statement on New Year’s Day, Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans said: “Our prayers go out to those killed and injured in this morning’s horrific attack on Bourbon Street”. He called it “a sign of utter disrespect for human life”.

Pope Francis sent his condolences to Archbishop Aymond in a message on 2 January, saying he was “deeply saddened”.

“In assuring the entire community of his spiritual closeness, His Holiness commends the souls of those who have died to the loving mercy of Almighty God and prays for the healing and consolation of the injured and bereaved,” said a telegram signed by the Vatican’s Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin. “As a pledge of peace and strength in the Lord, the Holy Father sends his blessing.”

Writing on social media in the days after the attack, Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller of San Antonio called for dialogue and charity, saying violence was driven by rhetoric of “hate”.

“If the leadership speak about hate, we will have hate; if we have actions of love, we’ll love,” he said. The attack was, he said, “the result of words and actions that leaders have demonstrated in our recent history, we should not blame others.”

On 3 January, he wrote: “We should search for truth, honesty, and what is good and right. We don’t find this in our government. One person does not represent who we are.”

Stay updated — add us as a preferred news source on Google: