Woman Killed in Montreal: From the Battlefield in Ukraine to Her Child’s Funeral

Little Maria’s father, a Ukrainian woman fatally injured by a hit-and-run driver, was able to make the trip from the battlefield to Montreal for the funeral, which begins Tuesday.

• Read more: Ukrainian woman fleeing bomb killed by driver in Montreal

• Read more: Ukrainian woman caught dead: her 7-year-old daughter killed in Montreal, her husband in the war

• Read more: Ukrainian woman killed in Montreal: alleged driver freed

The repatriation of Maria’s father, Andrii Legenkovska, who had fought against the Russian army from eastern Ukraine, was a success. Thanks to the efforts of the Ukrainian Embassy in Montreal, the father of a seven-year-old girl who was killed by a motorist was able to land in Montreal on Sunday.

“We understand that the people implementing the request are for a special, urgent situation and for a humanitarian reason,” Honorary Ambassador of Ukraine Yevgeny Solij said politely. “It was obvious that we were going to let him go out to attend his daughter’s funeral, and the reverse would have been incomprehensible,” he adds.

A great wave of sympathy

A week after the death of Maria, who fled bombings in Ukraine in July, help continues to pour in for her family. The Alfred Dallaire funeral complex, next to the Saint-Sophie Ukrainian Church on Saint-Michel Boulevard, kindly offered the funeral services to the family, while the Mont-Royal cemetery reserved a lot for the burial of Maria’s coffin.

A crowdfunding campaign created by Amma’s colleagues has surpassed $150,000.

Today is the festival

According to Ukrainian tradition, the first ceremony, composed mainly of songs, will be held this evening, at 7:30 p.m., in honor of the girl. The service has been moved from the Dallaire funeral home to the Sainte-Sophie church as many people from the community wish to pay their respects to the family.

The funeral will take place tomorrow morning. The funeral rites will be celebrated by Father Couchner. It was the first time in thirty years that a man of the parish had presided over a child’s funeral.

“Even if there aren’t enough words to describe the family’s pain, you have to find the right words,” explains the priest, who expects an emotional sermon. The latter still prefers to emphasize the fact that Mary has now “become an angel.”

Speakers pointed out that the ceremonies will be celebrated in Ukrainian, but also in French and English.

• A service will be held on Tuesday evening at 7:30 p.m., including a short carol ceremony. Maria’s funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Saint-Sophie Cathedral on Boulevard Saint-Michel.