August 17, 2023

UPDATED: Prayer vigil, candlelight procession planned in wake of rising violence

REGIONAL

Staff report

SPRINGFIELD – Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Parish in Springfield will host a prayer vigil and candlelight procession Wednesday, Aug. 23, in response to the uptick in violence in Springfield and other communities in western Massachusetts.

Springfield Bishop William D. Byrne will take part in this prayerful and peaceful event which will begin at 7 p.m. in the church, located at 407 Boston Rd. in Springfield.

The vigil will follow the weekly Wednesday Mass, which will be held at 6 p.m. All are invited to attend.

This last week, a 34-year-old man shot and killed a 52-year-old grandmother,  and the family dog. According to the Hampden District Attorney’s Office,  Victor Nieves also shot two children, ages 12 and 10, before turning the gun on himself. Local news outlets report the 10-year-old girl died Thursday at Boston Children’s Hospital. The children’s grandmother, Kim Fairbanks, was babysitting them and their younger sibling when Nieves, an upstairs neighbor, came in and opened fire, according to law enforcement.

“We are responding to the recent murders in the Pine Point area of Springfield the best way we know how, and that is to bring the community together in peaceful prayer,” said Father Ryan Rooney, pastor of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Parish.

Last Saturday, a man was shot and killed in a car the area of Boston Road and Parker Street Springfield. A second shooting victim who also was in the car remains hospitalized.

“God commands, ‘Thou shall not kill,’ and we will come together to pray for an end to violence in our city,” said Father Rooney. “We are grateful that Bishop Byrne has accepted our invitation to lead us in the candlelight vigil.”