Latest news with #JohnOliverSecondary
Ottawa Citizen
3 days ago
- Politics
- Ottawa Citizen
Community comes together to honour Lapu Lapu Day victims at 40-day memorial mass
Article content 'We remember the pain, because all of us are affected by it. But when we remember, we no longer remember just human beings. Article content 'We remember God and how God enters into this, because 40 days is a time of change and transformation.' Article content Article content The tragedy of Lapu Lapu Day was noted around the world. Article content 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. Article content 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. Article content '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. Article content Article content '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.' Article content 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.' Article content 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.' Article content 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. Article content Article content After the service, Reyes led a precession the four blocks to 43rd Avenue, where the tragedy took place. Article content Article content They were accompanied by a police escort, six officers in three police cars, which cordoned off the street for the vigil. Article content 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. Article content On the fence was another sign: 'This is too much to hold, so we hold it together.' Article content 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. Article content 'Here I can express my emotions and I'm not alone,' she said. Article content Article content Article content
Calgary Herald
02-05-2025
- Calgary Herald
At a Lapu Lapu roadside memorial: 'I hear the victims in my nightmares'
Article content You can see it from blocks away, a sea of flowers, flickering candles and hand-drawn signs stretch along the sidewalk. Article content Article content A single trumpet note floats in the air — slow, solemn — as Charles Shu, a local musician, plays Amazing Grace at the corner of East 41st and Fraser Street just before 11 a.m. on May 1. Article content 'I came here to blow the trumpet for everyone impacted — for healing, for comfort, and for hope for the future,' Shu said afterward, lowering his instrument. Article content Article content This is the largest of four spontaneous roadside memorials, stretching several hundred feet along the northern fence of John Oliver Secondary, that have emerged since the attack. They honour the 11 lives lost during the Lapu Lapu Day festival — now one of Vancouver's deadliest acts of mass violence. Article content Article content Throughout the morning, dozens of mourners stop by. Despite the steady hum of traffic at the busy intersection, most who gather at the memorial remain still, tearful, heads bowed. Some light candles or sticks of incense. Others whisper prayers into the wind. Article content Among them is Sofia Almonguera, a 19-year-old from Surrey who moves through the crowd in tears, cradling a bouquet of pink lilies. She slips past the City of Vancouver barricades and steps toward the heart of the memorial. Article content She stops before a felt-coloured sign that reads: 'This is too much to hold, so we hold it together.' Above it, the Filipino flag pinned to the chain-link fence flutters in the breeze, brushing close to her face. Article content Article content Clutching the lilies to her chest, she stands motionless, eyes fixed on the growing mound of tributes. Then, slowly, she kneels, laying the flowers gently among the thousands already placed. Article content Article content 'This feels personal,' she says. 'In the Filipino community, we call people uncle, cousin, even if they're not related by blood. And we mean it. That's why this tragedy — it's like it happened to family.' Article content Nearby, Kenya Ford carefully places a handwritten poem among the sea of bouquets. It reads: 'For the injured, for the child, oh my heart, for the child, for whoever out there is listening, protection against senseless pain.' Her hands tremble as she places it at the memorial. Article content 'I was there,' Ford says. 'I wanted to do something. I had to do something.'
Vancouver Sun
01-05-2025
- Vancouver Sun
At a Lapu Lapu roadside memorial: 'I hear the victims in my nightmares'
Article content You can see it from blocks away, a sea of flowers, flickering candles and hand-drawn signs stretch along the sidewalk. Article content Article content A single trumpet note floats in the air — slow, solemn — as Charles Shu, a local musician, plays Amazing Grace at the corner of East 41st and Fraser Street just before 11 a.m. on May 1. Article content 'I came here to blow the trumpet for everyone impacted — for healing, for comfort, and for hope for the future,' Shu said afterward, lowering his instrument. Article content Article content This is the largest of four spontaneous roadside memorials, stretching several hundred feet along the northern fence of John Oliver Secondary, that have emerged since the attack. They honour the 11 lives lost during the Lapu Lapu Day festival — now one of Vancouver's deadliest acts of mass violence. Article content Article content Throughout the morning, dozens of mourners stop by. Despite the steady hum of traffic at the busy intersection, most who gather at the memorial remain still, tearful, heads bowed. Some light candles or sticks of incense. Others whisper prayers into the wind. Article content Among them is Sofia Almonguera, a 19-year-old from Surrey who moves through the crowd in tears, cradling a bouquet of pink lilies. She slips past the City of Vancouver barricades and steps toward the heart of the memorial. Article content She stops before a felt-coloured sign that reads: 'This is too much to hold, so we hold it together.' Above it, the Filipino flag pinned to the chain-link fence flutters in the breeze, brushing close to her face. Article content Article content Clutching the lilies to her chest, she stands motionless, eyes fixed on the growing mound of tributes. Then, slowly, she kneels, laying the flowers gently among the thousands already placed. Article content Article content 'This feels personal,' she says. 'In the Filipino community, we call people uncle, cousin, even if they're not related by blood. And we mean it. That's why this tragedy — it's like it happened to family.' Article content Nearby, Kenya Ford carefully places a handwritten poem among the sea of bouquets. It reads: 'For the injured, for the child, oh my heart, for the child, for whoever out there is listening, protection against senseless pain.' Her hands tremble as she places it at the memorial.
