The grieving Ukrainian community gathered at the Saint-Sophie Orthodox Cathedral on Saint-Michel Boulevard on Tuesday evening to commemorate Maria Legankovska, who was killed by a driver on her way to school last week. His mother, who called the drama an “accidental crime,” said she did not blame the driver.
“He also has his family and I don’t want him to suffer too much in this situation,” Galina Lejenkowska said through a translator at the end of a press conference before the ceremony.
Photo by Catherine Lefebvre, special collaboration
Galina Lejenkowska, Maria’s mother
Before long, she took several minutes to thank one by one the long list of organizations and people who had helped her family, from the police to the staff at St-Justin Hospital, including the Canadian government. “I was very surprised and deeply touched by the reaction of the Quebec community,” said the bereaved mother.
“Not hundreds, but thousands” of people have sent him messages of support, he read a message in French.
My heart is torn by this great loss. My condition cannot be described in mere words. But today, I feel the incredible warmth that comes from Canadians’ words of support.
Galina Lejenkowska, Maria’s mother
A crowdfunding campaign launched after last week’s tragedy has raised more than $153,000 a week later, to “cover funeral expenses and support the family.”
From eastern Ukraine, where she was fighting Russian troops, her husband, Andriy Lehenkovsky, managed to make the trip to Montreal in time for the child’s funeral. He plans to stay there for “two or three months” to protect his hometown before returning to Ukraine. Despite everything, the family wants Maria to be buried in the country and continue her life in Canada.
“I hope that the soul of little Maria will beg God to protect all children so that they will no longer know the horrors of war and the loss of their loved ones,” concluded Galina Lejenkowska.
“A Tragedy”
For members of the Ukrainian community in Montreal, the tragedy was a blow, especially in the context of the war in their country, testified Reverend Ihor Oshchypko of the neighboring Ukrainian Catholic Church.
“It’s a tragedy, but also for people in general because it transcends nationalities,” he added before entering the ceremony. “We will do everything we can for the family. »
Photo by Catherine Lefebvre, special collaboration
The ceremony was presided over by Volodymyr Kuchnir, priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral of St. Sophia.
The ceremony began with hymns sung by the choir in the cathedral. Then Volodymyr Kuchnir, priest of Saint Sophia’s Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral, took the stage, mainly in Ukrainian, to underline Maria’s memory.
The latter met the mother and her three children only once before the tragedy, during a Sunday service.
A mind blowing conclusion
Ukraine’s honorary ambassador in Montreal, Eugene Solij, later spoke of “many atrocities” committed by the Russian military in Ukraine, including “rapes, forced adoptions and expulsions of Ukrainian children.” She wanted to provide some insight into the context in which young Maria’s parents made the decision for her mother, brother and sister to move to Canada.
At that time, most of the people present stood in line and consoled their bereaved parents.
Recall that last Tuesday, like many students in Quebec, Maria Lejenkowska, 7, was cut off by a motorist who did not stop after a collision while walking to school in the suburb of Ville-Marie.
The driver who allegedly hit Maria, Juan Manuel Becerra Garcia, 45, surrendered at a police station on Montreal’s South Shore the same day he was sentenced to death and ran to a Montreal court, where he used services. of a Spanish translator.
Young Maria’s official funeral will take place tomorrow, Wednesday, at the Alfred Dallaire funeral home, not far from Sainte-Sophie Cathedral.
“Music geek. Coffee lover. Devoted food scholar. Web buff. Passionate internet guru.”
