March 14, exactly one month after the deadly school shooting in
Parkland, Fla., students from around the country walked out of their schools in
protest of the nation's gun laws for 17 minutes to pay tribute to the 17
students and staff members killed that afternoon by gunfire at Marjory Stoneman
Douglas High School.
Most Catholic schools across the country marked the somber
anniversary of the school shooting and support youth-led advocacy of anti-gun
violence in a different way — through prayer.
In the Diocese of Arlington, several schools, including Nativity
School in Burke and Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington held prayer
services.
Both Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria and the St. Thomas
More Cathedral School in Arlington honored the Parkland victims by lighting
candles, then reading the 17 names and closing in prayer.
“It was beautiful — everyone worked together,” said William
Green, the St. Thomas More eighth-grade student council president. Green and
his fellow eighth-graders lead the nearly 100 middle-schoolers in prayer at the
cathedral. Assistant Principal Nelda Thomas encouraged them to be “prayer
warriors.”
Eighth-grade teacher Cynthia Larsen said her students identified
with the Parkland victims, some of whom were 14 — the same age of many of her
students.
“(They are in a time in their lives that) they know that they
need to be leaders in some way, but it’s not always clear how to find that
path,” she said. “This was an opportunity to be in solidarity with the 14-year-olds,
but also in a hopeful way to shine light.”
Another nationwide school walkout is scheduled for April 20, the
19th anniversary of the school shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton,
Colo. A related event is the "March for Our Lives," a youth-led
demonstration March 24 in Washington, where 500,000 are expected to attend.
Carol Zimmermann from Catholic News
Service contributed to this article.