'Devastated and heartbroken': Duxbury gathers to pray after children ...

• Cora and Dawson Clancy, 3, were found dead in their Summer Street home in Duxbury Tuesday night.
• Their mother, Lindsay Clancy, has been charged in their deaths.
• Holy Family Church held a vigil Thursday to pray "all those so deeply affected by the events of this week."

DUXBURY - Five-year-old Cora Clancy was remembered as a "beautiful little angel" Thursday night at a vigil to honor her life and that of her brother, Dawson.

"She was a happy little girl running around, learning and having fun," Christine Monaghan, who coached Cora's youth soccer team in Duxbury said. "She didn't deserve this."

Cora and Dawson Clancy, 3, were found dead in their Summer Street home in Duxbury Tuesday night by first responders who were called to the house after their mother, Lindsay Clancy, tried to kill herself by jumping out a second-floor window, Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz said. A third child, a 7-month-old boy, is being treated for injuries at a Boston hospital.

Lindsay Clancy, who is also hospitalized, has been charged with two charges of homicide in the death of her children, as well as three courts each of strangulation and assault and battery with a deadly weapon. Cruz said she will be arraigned "as soon as she is able."

Hundreds of vehicles filled the large parking lot of the Holy Family Church Thursday night for a candlelight vigil. The church invited community members to "pray for the Clancy family, their family and friends, the first responders, and all those so deeply affected by the events of this week."

Inside, parishioners and residents packed several aisles of pews. Latecomers stood against the back walls alongside the several Stations of the Cross. An organist played solemn music as attendants filed in.

The Rev. Robert J. Deehan, who called the community "devastated and heartbroken," led prayers for Clora, Dawson and infant Calen, who he said remains in critical condition. He also prayed for Lindsay Clancy, who Deehan said is afflicted with "overwhelming mental illness" and is facing serious injuries.

An extended period of silence followed, interrupted only by the cries and chatter of small children among the crowd. Many in attendance embraced and wiped tears from their face with tissues.

The Rev. Bill Williams called for comfort and consolation for Patrick Clancy, Lindsay's husband and father of the children. He offered further prayers for emergency responders and medical professionals in need of physical, emotional and spiritual healing due to the difficult nature of their work.

As Williams spoke, attendants lit candles distributed to them as they entered the church, passing the flame from wick to wick.

"Go forth into a dark world with a light," Williams said.

After the service, many exited to the parking lot, where several television crews had set up cameras. Others remained in their pews, heads bowed in reflection.

More: Children found strangled in Duxbury home. Mother charged with murder

More:Duxbury deaths put spotlight on mental health, postpartum depression.

Renae McLaughlin, of Duxbury, works as a nurse providing postpartum care.

"It's real," she said of the postpartum depression and psychosis that can affect mothers after childbirth. "They're overwhelmed."

McLaughlin said that the mental health of mothers is monitored in maternity wards, but that depression and other psychological conditions can be difficult to detect in the few days after childbirth. She said that she doesn't see cases frequently, but when they do occur, they can be severe.

Reach Peter Blandino at pblandino@patriotledger.com