Will Maupin / Wikimedia Commons
CV NEWS FEED // A priest in Spokane, Washington, sustained no injuries after a man attacked him during a Feb. 4 healing service.
The New York Post reports that the attack on Father David Gaines, the parochial vicar, occurred during a novena healing service the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes held Feb. 4 honoring its patron. An estimated 400 parishioners were present. The Cathedral holds healing services for nine nights preceding the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, which is Feb. 11.
Fr. Gaines was in the sanctuary, praying alongside Bishop Thomas Daly, other priests, and altar servers, when a man later identified as Joshua James Sommers reportedly ran up from a pew and tackled him.
Father Darrin Connall, the rector of the Cathedral, was standing close to Fr. Gaines.
Fr. Connall told the news outlet, “I didn’t realize how serious it was in the sense of we are in a downtown parish, we see disruptions and things like that all the time.”
Parishioners and the church’s security guard held Sommers down until the police arrived and arrested him.
Sommers faces charges of third-degree assault, fourth-degree assault, and fourth-degree attempted assault. His court appearance was set for Feb. 6.
Fr. Connall told KREM, CBS’ Spokane affiliate, that parishioners are praying for both Fr. Gaines and the attacker.
“Whatever his motivation was, it wasn’t well,” Fr. Connall said, “so it’s providential or ironic that we are in these days of healing and in the midst of all this, this happens from a man who needs some sort of healing in his life.”
TRUMP TO ESTABLISH TASK FORCE TO COMBAT ANTI-CHRISTIAN WEAPONIZATION OF GOVERNMENT
