World | Italy Italy Holds Mass Funeral for Quake Victims By Kevin Spak Posted Apr 10, 2009 6:36 AM CDT Copied A woman looks at the white coffin of a child, prior to the funerals for quake victims in L'Aquila, central Italy, Friday, April 10, 2009. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno) Italy today held a mass state funeral for 205 of the people killed in the Abruzzo earthquake and observed a national day of morning, the BBC reports. Dozens of coffins and thousands of people gathered at the open-air service at a police training base outside the damaged city of L’Aquila to hear the mass, which was performed by the Vatican’s second-highest ranking priest, Cardinal Tarcisio. The church granted the state a special dispensation to hold the mass on Good Friday. The pope’s personal secretary read a statement from the pontiff, saying he felt “spiritually present, amongst all of you.” After the Christian ceremony, an imam read a prayer honoring the six Muslims among those being buried. The quake’s death toll was raised to 289 today; rescue workers doubt more survivors will be found in the rubble. Read These Next Beyonce leaves national anthem unfinished. Musk says his new party is in business. See the best BBQ cities in the US. A space capsule carrying ashes of 160 people crashed in the ocean. Report an error