Memorial Service in Vienna's St. Stephen's Cathedral for Victims of Graz Rampage

Two days after the rampage at a high school in Graz, which resulted in ten deaths, representatives from the church and politics gathered for a memorial service at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna on Thursday evening. The administrator of the Archdiocese of Vienna, Josef Grünwidl, delivered the welcoming words. The Archbishop of Salzburg, Franz Lackner, led the mass. This officially marks the end of the three-day national mourning in Austria.

What happened on Tuesday in Graz shook all of Austria and "triggered horror and grief far beyond the borders of our country," Grünwidl reflected. Therefore, they wanted to come together once more to remember the victims and the bereaved, it was said. Although the national mourning ends, "the wounds that the terrible rampage has inflicted on the families, the teachers and friends of the victims, and all those affected remain," said Grünwidl.

Van der Bellen lit the first candle

Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen lit the first candle for the victims of the rampage after these words. Following a requiem, Ermin Šehić, the first Imam of the Islamic Religious Community in Vienna, read from the Quran. Michael Chalupka, Bishop of the Evangelical Church in Austria, offered a prayer.

Lackner recalled the words of Pope Francis four days before his death: "Why them and not me?" He asked himself this with an already broken voice in the face of great distress and misery of young people, Lackner said in his sermon. Now this question arises "in a similar, distressing way in light of this terrible tragedy," said the Archbishop. Nevertheless, "a noticeable coming together" has taken place. "We have newly felt a common task and responsibility for the success of life." He further encouraged unity and being there for one another in this context. "We owe that to our dear brothers and sisters in great need."

Sign of Unity in Vienna's St. Stephen's Cathedral

The Austrian Bishops' Conference, in coordination with the federal government, invited to the service. In addition to political leaders such as Federal President Van der Bellen, Chancellor Christian Stocker (ÖVP), Vice Chancellor Andreas Babler (SPÖ), or Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger (NEOS), opposition politicians like FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl also participated.

Representatives of ecumenism and other religions also commemorated the victims of the rampage. Among them were the Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Arsenios (Kardamakis), the President of the Islamic Religious Community in Austria, Ümit Vural, Military Bishop Werner Freistetter, the Bishop of the Diocese of Graz Wilhelm Krautwaschl, as well as the Syriac Orthodox Chorepiscopus Emanuel Aydin. High-ranking officials from the security apparatus, such as the Director General for Public Security, Franz Ruf, and the Styrian State Police Director Gerald Ortner, also attended.

Three-Day National Mourning After Rampage

The three-day national mourning was declared by the federal government on Tuesday following the rampage. A 21-year-old had killed nine students and a teacher at a high school in Graz and subsequently committed suicide.

(APA/Red)

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