Please join us June 9 in wearing orange for the Cathedral’s observance of National Gun Violence Awareness Day.

The #WearOrange movement started on June 2, 2015 — what would have been Hadiya Pendleton’s 18th birthday. In 2013, just one week after performing at President Obama’s second inaugural parade, she was shot and killed at the age of 15. In the aftermath of Hadiya’s murder, teenagers in Chicago wore orange to honor their friend.

Now, #WearOrange honors Hadiya and the more than 120 people who are shot and killed every day in the United States, as well as hundreds more who are wounded and countless others traumatized by acts of gun violence.

The impacts of this public health crisis have continued to devastate communities and families across the country through the deadly year of 2023 and the first half of this year.

But as incidents of gun violence have grown, so has the movement to stop it. We continue to educate, raise awareness, organize, advocate, and rally for safer communities.