POPE LEO HAS denounced the “pandemic of arms, large and small”, as he prayed publicly for the victims of the shooting during a Catholic school Mass in the United States.

The first American Pope spoke in English as he appealed for an end to the “logic of weapons” and for a culture of fraternity to prevail, during his Sunday noon blessing from his studio overlooking St Peter’s Square.

“Our prayers for the victims of the tragic shooting during a school Mass in the American state of Minnesota,” Leo said.

“We hold in our prayers the countless children killed and injured every day around the world. Let us plead God to stop the pandemic of arms, large and small, which infects our world.”

Two children, aged eight and 10, were killed and 20 people were injured during the shooting at the Church of Annunciation in Minneapolis, as hundreds of students from the nearby Annunciation Catholic School and others gathered for a Mass on the first day of the new school term.

The attacker, Robin Westman, fired 116 rifle rounds through the church’s stained-glass windows, and later died by suicide.

In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Leo had refrained from any political commentary about guns, sending a telegram of condolence that focused exclusively on the spiritual.

He said he was saddened by the “terrible tragedy” and sent his “heartfelt condolences and the assurance of spiritual closeness to all those affected”.

With reporting from Press Association