The following comes from a December 15 Catholic San Francisco article by Valerie Schmalz:

Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone joined in prayer with the family of 26-year-old Hector Salvador December 9 at 16th and Hoff streets in the Mission District in San Francisco.

Salvador was shot and killed in the early morning of December 6 at the site. The archdiocesan restorative justice ministry holds prayer vigils for every person who dies by violence and prays for them and for those who killed them. The pastor of St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church, Rev. Richard Smith, supporters of the restorative justice ministry, and others formed a circle around a tree with a makeshift shrine for Salvador.

The archdiocesan restorative justice ministry reaches out to the victims of violent crimes and has been organizing prayer vigils for those who died by violence for more than three years. The vigils also include prayers for those who committed the violence.

The ministry recently created a program to prepare volunteers to support the families of crime victims.

“Adding to a family’s trauma after a murder are intrusions into the normal grief process that others facing a loss don’t typically face,” said Julio Escobar, director of restorative justice ministry, such as the need to engage with police, lawyers, investigations, or provide testimony and evidence. Other sudden and overwhelming burdens can be financial ones, like legal and funeral costs.