L'Isle-Verte honours victims of fire with commemorative mass

Hundreds of mourners filed into a church in L’Isle-Verte, Que., on Saturday morning for a solemn mass to remember the 24 people who died, and eight who are still missing, after a fire burned down a seniors' residence.

Political leaders such as Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Gov. Gen. David Johnston, NDP leader Tom Mulcair and Quebec Premier Pauline Marois are attending the service at Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church, along with security officers from the Quebec provincial police and RCMP.

L’Isle-Verte’s Mayor Ursule Thériault said she plans to take advantage of Harper’s presence to ask for help from the federal government.

“All types of aid for this catastrophe will be welcome,” Thériault said.

Messages of condolences, as well as a board with pictures of the victims, will be displayed in the church — a way for people in the community to deal with their pain, said one health-care worker.

“We have many people who are coming to see us.… People are willing to cry, tell us their stories, and look for help,” said Pierre-Paul Malenfant, a health and social services co-ordinator at the Bas Saint-Laurent Health Agency.

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church had been closed to the public in the lead-up to the service, while about 50 volunteers from L’Isle-Verte and neighbouring towns prepared for the Roman Catholic ceremony.

So far, 24 people have been confirmed dead, and eight people are still considered missing.