LAWRENCE, MASS. (WHDH) – Archbishop Richard Henning led a Memorial Service at St. Patrick Parish in Lawrence on Friday night to pray for the hundreds of victims of a tragic roof collapse in the Dominican Republic.
“This kind of event is so shocking for people. Whenever you lose a loved one, it’s hard, but in this circumstance, you’re celebrating and having a good time then death intervenes, it’s just so shocking,” Henning told 7NEWS before the Mass.
Those gathered honored the memories of the more than 200 people who died when the roof of a nightclub caved in, among them was local restaurateur Fray Luis Rosario, who ran the Terra Luna Cafe and Terra Negra Cantina in Lawrence.
Sixty-seven-year-old Florinda Rojas was also inside the club. She’s the sister of Lawrence radio host Santiago Matias.
The archbishop said he led the Mass in Spanish to show solidarity with the community.
“There’s so many Dominican Catholics in Lawrence and around the region, so I just felt it was important to reach out as a fellow believer and the shepherd to be with people in their mourning,” he said.
The rescue mission in Santo Domingo is now a recovery effort. First responders are still searching through the rubble for those who still have not been located.
The cause of the roof collapse remains under investigation.
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