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By PAULINE ARRILLAGA and GILLIAN FLACCUS, 


Associated Press
      TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - They came by the hundreds, a few cradling
their own small children even as they gathered to remember someone
else's baby. Young and old, some who knew the fallen and many with
no connection at all, assembled only a few blocks from where
tragedy struck to offer prayers for the dead and wounded - and to
try and find some semblance of peace for their aching community and
hearts.


      The service Tuesday night at St. Odilia Catholic Church came as
families prepare to bury the victims of Saturday's shooting rampage
that claimed the lives of six people, including 9-year-old
Christina Taylor Green, and injured U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords
and more than a dozen others.


      St. Odilia was little Christina's church, and her mother sat in
the front pew as nine girls, some about Christina's age, walked
toward the altar and stood singing "Amazing Grace." As he began
his mass, Bishop Gerald Kicanas noted that Christina herself had
once sung with the choir, and "I know she is singing with us
tonight."


      The service was intended to help a distraught community heal.
Kicanas urged the more than 400 people in attendance to pray not
only for the victims but for an end to violence, division and
destructive words and actions.


      "God wills that we resist evil. That we live with integrity.
That we speak and act with civility and respect," he said.
"Everyone in our community is in grief. We are in tears. We are
pained and concerned about what took place. We are a community
questioning, struggling, wondering how such violence could
happen."


      Inside the church, a crucifix hung from a white block wall
behind the altar, adorned with a few lit candles and red
poinsettias, still in place after the holidays. Children, some in
their Sunday best, sat close to their parents. Several others, like
60-year-old Victoria Vaughan, attended the service alone. She said
she just wanted to feel a part of the community.

      "It's really hard to sit at home and watch it on TV. It's so
isolating," Vaughan said. "I think it's important for people to
come together and to try and dwell on peace and kindness."

      Ariel Salinas, 19, attended with her mother, Tisha, and
4-month-old daughter Abrielle. She didn't know any of the victims
but nevertheless felt compelled to come and pray for them.


      "I just want to feel better about the world," she said, as her
daughter slept in a baby carriage mounded with blankets to protect
her from the cold desert night. Ariel's voice shook with emotion as
she thought of what happened to Christina and then about her own
little girl. "I just want to keep her safe as much as I can.
There's all different kinds of people in the world and you can only
do so much to protect somebody, but I'm going to do the best that I
can to protect her."


      The service drew mourners from all political spectrums.


      Yvonne Ignacio, 53, is a tea party member but said she felt
compelled to come to the Mass.


      "I am dismayed that it's become political. That's disrespectful
to the victims and that's why we're here," said Ignacio.


      Her husband, Chuck Bolotin, 53, agreed: "I did everything I
could to defeat (Giffords) and yet it doesn't make a difference. It
doesn't mean she deserves to be shot."


      The modern turquoise-and-white church is only blocks from the
grocery store that was the scene of the shooting spree, and
security at the service was tight. Dozens of sheriff's deputies on
motorcycles and in squad cars surrounded the church before the Mass
began. About a block away, TV crews were filming after being
escorted into a restricted area, away from mourners.


      Inside the church, some clutched tissues and wiped away tears as
they sang hymns about longing for peace and finding light in the
darkness.


      Kathleen Hunter, a 62-year-old retiree, said she was comforted
by the bishop's words and by a sense of togetherness that she got
from the Mass. She said she was praying for her friend, Susan
Hileman, the neighbor who took Christina to the event on Saturday
because of the girl's interest in politics. Hileman, her husband
has said, was holding hands with Christina when gunshots rang out.
Hileman was shot three times but is expected to survive.


      "I was praying for healing, for Christina's family, for all the
families who have lost loved ones, for the people who've been shot
and injured," said Hunter.

      College student Lauren DeJonghe attended the service with her
mother. She had no connection to any of the victims but said that
mattered little in terms of how the tragedy had affected her and
the community in which she was born and raised.

      "Everyone was affected one way or another," the 21-year-old
said. "Your heart just hurts."


      Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Raquel
Maria Dillon in Tucson, Ariz., and Julie Watson in Phoenix.
      

Gallery

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Doctor: Giffords breathing on her own after attack

Crime, Law and Justice

The service Tuesday night at St. Odilia Catholic Church came as
families prepare to bury the victims of Saturday's shooting rampage
that claimed the lives of six people, including 9-year-old
Christina Taylor Green, and injured U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords
and more than a dozen others.

Hundreds attend Mass to remember Arizona victims

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