Mass in Laval for daycare bus attack victims
Posted February 10, 2023 9:43 am.
Last Updated February 10, 2023 6:45 pm.
A mass was held at 11 a.m. Friday morning to honour the victims and families of the tragic daycare bus attack in Laval on Wednesday during busy morning drop-off.
Two four-year-old children were killed and six others injured when a bus plowed into the Garderie Éducative Sainte-Rose. The driver was arrested at the scene and charged with two counts of first-degree murder as well as seven other charges.
The mass was held at the Sainte-Rose-de-Lima church in the small community where the tragedy occurred. Michel Bouchard is the priest who gave the mass. He has been working in the community for 21 years.
“I invite people to be in solidarity with these families because their life is not finished. It’s not finished for the kids neither because they are in heaven. We have to take our strength and continue to live with these families who live an awful thing,” Bouchard said in an interview with CityNews.
“We have to take our strength and to continue to live with these families who live an awful thing,” he added.
#WATCH: Mass being held this morning to honour victims and survivors of the Laval daycare bus attack. @rubertuccinews has more.
MORE: https://t.co/SaPFn0HCRk pic.twitter.com/AUXcC6DG6j
— CityNews Montreal (@CityNewsMTL) February 10, 2023
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Bouchard said he is also preparing the funeral for one of the young victims who was killed – which will be held Feb. 16. He explained he baptized the child at that same church merely a few years ago.
“I baptize him three years and a half ago and I will celebrate his funeral next Thursday, so it’s hard, but it’s life,” Bouchard said.
One couple drove from Toronto to attend the mass. The tragedy hitting them particularly hard because their grandchildren attended the daycare in the past.
“The thing is, it could could have been our grandchildren as well as every other grandparents or parents that live in the area,” said Elena Racioppo through tears.
“It’s incomprehensible. There’s no words to describe. All we can do is show our support, say some prayers for the children, all the children that were affected. It’s heartbreaking. And, for us, it was worth the five hour drive to come up and show some support to the families,” her husband Rocco Racioppo added.
“I’m here to support the families, the parents who have lost their children, to give my love, my light, and my prayers. I wish for them to know that their children that are now angels are making waves in this world that will bring people together more than ever,” said Marissa Annibale, a mother of four who attended the mass.
“For those families going through difficult times, you’re held, you’re held,” she concluded.
A mass is held to honor the victims of the daycare bus attack on Feb. 10, 2023. Photo Credit: Alyssia Rubertucci/CityNews
“It’s very painful. We came here today to pay our respects as fellow parents because we can’t imagine how it can be not seeing your kids after sending them to daycare for the day,” said Mia Merolla, another mother who came to the church with her husband.
