Mourners wept as pallbearers carried two small caskets draped in white into a Woodbridge, Ont., church for the funerals of two slain sisters.

Hundreds of friends and family packed St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church to remember the short lives of three-year-old Serena and her one-year-old sister Sophia.

Three-year-old Serena Campione and her one-year-old sister, Sophia, were found dead in their mother's apartment on Oct. 4.
(CBC)

The two girls were found dead last Wednesday in a Barrie apartment they shared with their mother.

Frances Elaine Campione couldn't attend the funeral because she is in custody after being charged with first-degree murder in connection with her daughters' deaths.

Some of those attending were simply members of the community who were shocked by the tragedy and came to pay respect.

Speaking to reporters after the funeral, Father Michael Corcione said the system failed the two slain sisters, but now is a time to focus on forgiveness and remembering them.
(CBC)

"You know they are angels right now in heaven with God," Freda Caruna said after crossing herself as the hearse passed carrying the two coffins.

Caruna did not know the girls, but lives in the same part of Woodbridge as their grandparents.

Priest urges forgiveness

Father Michael Corcione, who had baptized the girls and married their parents, conducted the service, calling for forgiveness in the wake of the tragedy.

"I think it's important that we know that things have failed here," he said. "Things weren't right."

He said the time would come to address how the system failed the two girls, but added that now was the time for forgiveness and for remembering the girls.

"Angels. They looked like angels," he remembered. "They had blond hair and blue eyes. They were always smiling and dancing."

Media weren't allowed inside the church as mourners paid their respects, but after the funeral a member of the family praised the priest's message.

"It was a wonderful service," said a cousin of the girls' father Leo Campione, who identified herself only as Anna. "Everyone is in mourning and the bottom line is forgiveness."

Children's Aid to review involvement

Meanwhile, the Children's Aid Society of Simcoe released a statement this afternoon confirming that it had been working with the family.

An internal review will be conducted to see if something could have been done to prevent the tragedy.

Friends and neighbours have said Frances Campione and her estranged husband Leonardo Campione were in the middle of a divorce and bitter custody battle. Leonardo has been charged with five counts of assault and one charge of uttering threats over the years.

The coroner's office of Ontario has started to investigate the deaths, according to deputy coroner Dr. Jim Cairns.

A written statement released to the media by the father's family last week called the deaths a "catastrophic failure of the system," adding that the family looks forward to the public process to determine guilt and an inquest.

"I know what the grandparents have said," Cairns said. "They said the system let these children down.

"We'll be reviewing everything where the system had contact to see if there's a valid concern."

Details about the relationship could become public next week when a judge unseals documents about the parents' custody battle.

An Ontario judge temporarily sealed the papers until Oct. 16 to give the family time to grieve.