Small candles pierced the darkness of North Road on Wednesday evening as members of the St. Mary's community came together to pay their tribute to the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut earlier this month.

While a prayer service had been held earlier at the parish in honor of the victims, Father Stephen Donohoe felt that members of the church needed something more to make sense of the event that has continued to reverberate across the nation.

"This was just an opportunity for people to do something through prayer," said Donoghue. "The fact that so many showed up, it showed a sense of solidarity."

For parents, such as Tiffany Linstead of Chelmsford, the event proved to be an opportunity to grieve and help her children make sense of what happened.

"I have children of that age, and it was important for me to be here due to that," said Linstead. "Things like this just remind you that every moment is precious, that you have to take in every moment."