Msgr. Lopez, Vicar General of the Diocese, referred to the 14 who perished as heroes and challenged the people of the region not to allow them to fade from memory. Their names are Robert Adams, Isaac Amanios, Bennetta Betbadal, Harry Bowman, Sierra Clayborn, Juan Espinoza, Aurora Godoy, Shannon Johnson, Larry Kaufman, Damian Meins, Tin Nguyen, Nicholas Thalasinos, Yvette Velasco and Michael Wetzel.
“Life has changed, not ended,” Msgr. Lopez said, speaking of their place in the kingdom of heaven.
A night earlier, the Diocese convoked faith leaders of the City at Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral for a prayer service to commemorate the Dec. 2 attack. Representatives of the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faith traditions sounded common notes of unity, healing and non-violence.
“What does it mean to be a strong city?” asked Rabbi Hillel Cohn. “It means we must move from this time of lamentation to rise up from tragedy and affirm life.”
Dr. Mustafa Kuko, representing the Islamic Center of Riverside, emphasized the importance of the faith community standing together to oppose violence and terror.
“We all belong to great traditions,” he said. “We should go out from here loving each other. When we do so, we defeat fear, we defeat bigotry.”
At the prayer service, framed photos of the 14 victims of the Dec. 2 attack were placed across a table in front of the altar. Family members of nine of the victims were in attendance. As each victim’s name was called a family member approached the altar and placed a rose in front of their loved one’s photograph. Diocesan seminarians placed the roses for victims who did not have family present.
Sacred Heart School in Rancho Cucamonga was especially impacted by the Dec. 2 attack because victim Damian Meins was the husband of Principal Trenna Meins. On the one-year anniversary, the school held a prayer service that included a moment of silence at 10:58 a.m., the exact time that the attack had begun. The service also included the dedication of a memorial plaque listing the names of the 14 who died and including a favorite quote of Damian Meins that had been painted on the Berlin Wall after it fell. “Many small people, who in many small places, do many small things, can alter the face of the earth.” The plaque was the brainchild of 18-year-old parishioner A.J. Giliberto, who wanted to pay tribute to the 14 victims but also offer some words of inspiration to those who see it.
As he had done a year earlier at San Manuel Baseball Stadium in San Bernardino, Bishop Barnes joined other faith leaders and elected officials in a city-sponsored prayer service the evening of the one year anniversary, this time held at California State University, San Bernardino.
The Bishop echoed themes of resilience and reconciliation while acknowledging the difficulty of coping with the tragedy over the past year. The previous night at Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral he told attendees this:
“We have lived through a most difficult year and in the midst of this we have seen signs of hope.
“We must allow ourselves to be transformed again and again into instruments of peace and ambassadors of hope.”