The funeral of the youngest victim of the Manchester bombing, eight-year-old Saffie Rose Roussos, is taking place today.
Saffie’s funeral is being held in Manchester Cathedral, while another service will take place in her home village of Tarleton. The service will be officiated by the Reverend Rogers Govender, Dean of Manchester Cathedral.
The little girl’s wicker coffin arrived at the cathedral just before 2pm, according to The Mirror. It was covered in pink roses, to represent Saffie’s favourite colour.
Saffie’s mother Lisa, who was injured in the blast and still has one arm in a sling, was helped into the venue in a wheelchair. Many members of Saffie’s family - including her 10-year-old brother Xander, and other mourners carried a single red rose as they entered the cathedral.
As the funeral procession entered the cathedral, strains of the Stevie Wonder song Faith, covered by Ariana Grande, could be heard playing.
Saffie’s mother Lisa left hospital to perform the hardest task of any parent, saying goodbye to her child https://t.co/RI3SNrQGu1 pic.twitter.com/ivsvxP584M
— Manchester News MEN (@MENnewsdesk) July 26, 2017
The family opened the funeral to the public and are holding a private cremation ceremony afterwards. The Mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham, was in attendance alongside the Chief Constable for Greater Manchester Ian Hopkins; members of the ambulance service attended, too.
Little Saffie died when bomber Salman Abedi detonated a homemade explosive in the foyer of the Manchester Arena, as she left an Ariana Grande concert with mum Lisa and her sister, Ashlee Bromwich, 26.
21 others also died in the attack, and many young fans were left with devastating injuries. Saffie’s mum suffered such serious injuries that she was in a coma for several days.
Upon waking up, Saffie’s father Andrew said Lisa’s first words were, “She’s gone, isn’t she?”
The family released a video montage of the little girl today, asking people to share it to "make her famous", as Saffie always dreamed about finding fame on YouTube.
Speaking on July 4, which would have been the little girl’s ninth birthday, Andrew said: "We've lost everything. We have, we've lost everything because life will just never be the same."
Saffie's dad described her as a little girl who loved singing and dancing, who had been counting down until the day of the concert.
Saffie was a huge fan of Ariana Grande and had been given tickets to go and see her as a Christmas present from her parents. Her family said the little girl had been “happy and elated” as she left the venue.
We are thinking of Saffie’s parents, family and friends on this incredibly sad day.
