Maria, in her white coffin, was brought to her final resting place on Wednesday morning. Affected by the tragic death of a seven-year-old girl, her family, loved ones and members of the public attended a mass in memory of the victim of a fatal accident.
“You were our youngest. You were a sweet little girl,” said Andriy Lezhenkowska, Maria’s father, who managed to leave the front in Ukraine to join his family in Montreal this weekend.
The man spoke of a smiling, courageous child of “sunshine.” He took a moment to thank Canadians for their generosity, help and support. Andrii Legenkovska spoke in Ukrainian, but priest Vlodymyr Kushnir translated his every word into English. The father was very moved and ended his speech by saying “Thank you very much” in French.
Photo by Hugo-Sébastien Aubert, The Press
The girl’s mother, Galina Lejenkowska, also wrote a text message, which the priest read to the more than 60 people gathered at Saint Sophia’s Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral. “I hope my little Maria’s soul will go to God and together they will protect all children from the horrors of war and the loss of loved ones,” she said. Galina Lejenkowska and her three children fled the war in Ukraine last July. They found refuge in Montreal when the father of the family had to stay to fight the Russian invasion.
After Ukrainian prayers and chants, members of the public approached the small open coffin and prayed for the young woman, who wore a wreath of white flowers on her head. They consoled the family standing nearby.
Andriy Lezhenkowska then walked up to her daughter and whispered a few words in her ear. Anna and Paul, sister and brother, then walked up to Maria and they took turns crying. Galina Lejenkowska brought up the rear. She took her daughter’s hands and kissed them one last time before closing the coffin. A cry was heard in the church.
Maria Lejenkowska was hit by a driver on December 13 while walking to school in the Centre-Sud district of Montreal. Juan Manuel Becerra Garcia, who investigators suspect was driving the car, went to a police station on Montreal’s South Shore in the afternoon. He is charged with causing death.
Photo by Hugo-Sébastien Aubert, The Press
The family is new to Canada after the seven-year-old’s death shook Quebec. Crowdfunding campaigns were quickly set up and more than $150,000 was raised in a few days to support the Legenskovas.
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