Community comes together to honour Lapu Lapu Day victims at 40-day memorial mass
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'We remember the pain, because all of us are affected by it. But when we remember, we no longer remember just human beings.
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'We remember God and how God enters into this, because 40 days is a time of change and transformation.'
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The tragedy of Lapu Lapu Day was noted around the world.
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Among those who reached out with condolences and sympathy were King Charles, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and French President Emmanuel Macron.
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Galvan, the seventh of 10 children born to farmer parents in a remote village in the Philippines, said he was supposed to be at the festival, but the death of Pope Francis required his attention elsewhere.
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'Sometimes we get broken, we don't know the reason, but something happened in our lives and so for us, we're not just praying for those who have died, we also pray for the one who caused this pain,' Galvan said. 'He's a human being also like us.
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'We pray for him as well, because there are things that we do not understand as human beings … this is very important because when we pray, we raise our minds and hearts.'
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Galvan was in attendance at Thursday's mass in support of St. Andrew's pastor Fr. Salvador Reyes Jr., who began the service with the hymn Christ Be Our Light: 'Shine in our hearts, shine through the darkness.'
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That was followed with a passage from Isiah that, Reyes said, emphasizes God's mercy and compassion, even toward sinners: 'I will not accuse them forever, nor will I always be angry.'
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Eight volunteers with the Provincial Psychosocial Services were on hand to help anyone needing assistance coping with the trauma, with their pamphlets on a table inside the church near doors with posters reading Hope Lives Here.
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After the service, Reyes led a precession the four blocks to 43rd Avenue, where the tragedy took place.
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They were accompanied by a police escort, six officers in three police cars, which cordoned off the street for the vigil.
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White-robed children followed close behind, then the congregation, and 11 candles were lit — one for each fatality — at the memorials that have popped up on the fence bordering John Oliver Secondary.
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On the fence was another sign: 'This is too much to hold, so we hold it together.'
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Mirikit Santos, who was not at the festival and did not know anyone who was hurt, said she was there because she couldn't bear the burden of her emotions by herself.
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'Here I can express my emotions and I'm not alone,' she said.
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