‘Unspeakable tragedy’: Mourners stream to Vancouver festival memorial mass

By Canadian Press on May 2, 2025.

VANCOUVER — Mourners have streamed into the Holy Rosary Cathedral in downtown Vancouver to mourn the 11 people killed in a vehicle-ramming attack at a Filipino street festival in the city last weekend.

Archbishop J. Michael Miller says the attack was an “unspeakable tragedy,” leaving the community “grieving and deeply disturbed.”

The memorial mass is being held on the provincial day of mourning for those killed at the Lapu Lapu Day festival when an SUV sped through a crowded street.

The cathedral was packed with mourners, many from the Filipino community, along with Premier David Eby, Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim and interim Vancouver police Chief Steve Rai.

The suspect in the case, Adam Kai-Ji Lo, appeared hours earlier in provincial court where a judge ordered a mental health assessment to make sure he’s fit for trial.

Miller says the provincial day of mourning recognizes that lives were bound together and “we cannot face tragedy isolated, one from another.”

“We need a community of solidarity to support and help us as we walk through this valley of darkness.”

Miller assured members of the Filipino community they are not alone in their grief,” saying “we are with you in your sorrow, a sorrow that shakes us to the very core of our being.”

Eby was expected to speak at the end of the service.

Inside the cathedral, Eby sat alongside legislator Mable Elmore, who is of Filipino heritage. Both had also been at the Lapu Lapu Day festival.