TUCSON - Overnight, she became a national symbol of a longing for civility - a young girl full of innocent magic, curious about the world around her, jumping in rain puddles.
On Thursday afternoon, the parents of 9-year-old Christina Taylor Green will lay her to rest, their daughter's life cut far too short by a gunman who had targeted a congresswoman here but killed Christina and five other people caught in the crossfire.
Christina's funeral begins at 1 p.m. Mountain Time (3 p.m. Eastern Time) at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church, just a few miles from the northwest Tucson strip mall where Saturday's rampage unfolded. A flag damaged in the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attack in New York - the date of her birth - will hang outside the church, attached to the ladders of two fire engines to create an arch.
Christina's will be the first in a series of funerals for the slain across Tucson. For the country, the celebration of the youngest victim will likely be the most poignant. President Obama, in his eulogy delivered here Wednesday night, made the third-grader the face of all that America's democracy should be.
"Imagine for a moment, here was a young girl who was just becoming aware of our democracy; just beginning to understand the obligations of citizenship; just starting to glimpse the fact that some day she, too, might play a part in shaping her nation's future," Obama said in his remarks at the University of Arizona.
"She had been elected to her student council," he continued. "She saw public service as something exciting and hopeful. She was off to meet her congresswoman, someone she was sure was good and important and might be a role model. She saw all this through the eyes of a child, undimmed by the cynicism or vitriol that we adults all too often just take for granted.
"I want to live up to her expectations. I want our democracy to be as good as Christina imagined it. I want America to be as good as she imagined it."
National tragedy has bookended Christina's life. She was one of the babies born on Sept. 11, 2001, when terrorists attacked New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania, featured in a book called "Faces of Hope."
Her death has captured the nation's attention. Sales of the book have reportedly soared this week. A group of Trappist monks in Iowa donated a handmade red oak coffin to bury the girl.
In his speech, Obama quoted the simple wishes for her life that appeared on either side of her photo: "I hope to help those in need," read one. "I hope you know all the words to the National Anthem and sing it with your hand over your heart," read another. A third said, "I hope you jump in rain puddles."
At that, Obama reached the crescendo in his address to the nation: "If there are rain puddles in Heaven, Christina is jumping in them today. And here on this Earth, we place our hands over our hearts, and we commit ourselves as Americans to forging a country that is forever worthy of her gentle, happy spirit."
The daughter of Los Angeles Dodgers scout John Green and granddaughter of former New York Mets and New York Yankees manager Dallas Green, Christina was an A-student and an avid dancer, swimmer and gymnast. She wanted to be the first woman to play baseball in the Major Leagues.
Christina had been learning about government and public service at Mesa Verde Elementary School. She wanted to meet her congresswoman, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), so a neighbor took her last Saturday to a "Congress on Your Corner" event outside a Safeway supermarket in Tucson's northwest suburbs.
The neighbor, Suzie Hileman, was holding Christina's hand, waiting in line to talk with Giffords, when authorities say Jared Loughner shot Giffords and started firing into the crowd. Moments later, after Loughner was restrained, witnesses rushed to give Christina CPR before emergency rescue personnel arrived. But it was not enough to revive the young girl.
Christina's death has had a profound impact on this grieving desert city, particularly so for Tucson's young. Children from across the city have placed teddy bears, flowers and ribbons at makeshift memorials outside her elementary school, Giffords's district office and University Medical Center, the hospital where several victims, including Giffords, are recovering.
At a memorial service Tuesday night at Christina's family's church, St. Odilia Catholic Church, more than 1,000 mourners paid tribute to her. With Christina's family in the front pew, the young girls with whom she sang in choir delivered a stirring rendition of "Amazing Grace" that brought tears to many eyes.
Christina's mother, Roxanna, closed her eyes during the emotional service. The clergy entered to the hymn"God of Day and God of Darkness," and a women's choir sang "Shepherd Me, O God."
A Kansas church group that had planned to protest outside the funerals of Christina as well as Judge John M. Roll has reportedly reversed its decision. The Westboro Baptist Church congregation is known for demonstrating at the funerals of U.S. soldiers.
The group's announcement earlier this week that it would protest caused a political backlash in Arizona. The state legislature passed an emergency measure prohibiting protests within 300 feet of any funeral service, and many residents reportedly said they would physically block the protesters from coming into view of the victims' families.
Christina's funeral begins at 1 p.m. Mountain Time (3 p.m. Eastern Time) at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church, just a few miles from the northwest Tucson strip mall where Saturday's rampage unfolded. A flag damaged in the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attack in New York - the date of her birth - will hang outside the church, attached to the ladders of two fire engines to create an arch.
Christina's will be the first in a series of funerals for the slain across Tucson. For the country, the celebration of the youngest victim will likely be the most poignant. President Obama, in his eulogy delivered here Wednesday night, made the third-grader the face of all that America's democracy should be.
"Imagine for a moment, here was a young girl who was just becoming aware of our democracy; just beginning to understand the obligations of citizenship; just starting to glimpse the fact that some day she, too, might play a part in shaping her nation's future," Obama said in his remarks at the University of Arizona.
"She had been elected to her student council," he continued. "She saw public service as something exciting and hopeful. She was off to meet her congresswoman, someone she was sure was good and important and might be a role model. She saw all this through the eyes of a child, undimmed by the cynicism or vitriol that we adults all too often just take for granted.
"I want to live up to her expectations. I want our democracy to be as good as Christina imagined it. I want America to be as good as she imagined it."
National tragedy has bookended Christina's life. She was one of the babies born on Sept. 11, 2001, when terrorists attacked New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania, featured in a book called "Faces of Hope."
Her death has captured the nation's attention. Sales of the book have reportedly soared this week. A group of Trappist monks in Iowa donated a handmade red oak coffin to bury the girl.
At that, Obama reached the crescendo in his address to the nation: "If there are rain puddles in Heaven, Christina is jumping in them today. And here on this Earth, we place our hands over our hearts, and we commit ourselves as Americans to forging a country that is forever worthy of her gentle, happy spirit."
The daughter of Los Angeles Dodgers scout John Green and granddaughter of former New York Mets and New York Yankees manager Dallas Green, Christina was an A-student and an avid dancer, swimmer and gymnast. She wanted to be the first woman to play baseball in the Major Leagues.
Christina had been learning about government and public service at Mesa Verde Elementary School. She wanted to meet her congresswoman, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), so a neighbor took her last Saturday to a "Congress on Your Corner" event outside a Safeway supermarket in Tucson's northwest suburbs.
The neighbor, Suzie Hileman, was holding Christina's hand, waiting in line to talk with Giffords, when authorities say Jared Loughner shot Giffords and started firing into the crowd. Moments later, after Loughner was restrained, witnesses rushed to give Christina CPR before emergency rescue personnel arrived. But it was not enough to revive the young girl.
Christina's death has had a profound impact on this grieving desert city, particularly so for Tucson's young. Children from across the city have placed teddy bears, flowers and ribbons at makeshift memorials outside her elementary school, Giffords's district office and University Medical Center, the hospital where several victims, including Giffords, are recovering.
At a memorial service Tuesday night at Christina's family's church, St. Odilia Catholic Church, more than 1,000 mourners paid tribute to her. With Christina's family in the front pew, the young girls with whom she sang in choir delivered a stirring rendition of "Amazing Grace" that brought tears to many eyes.
Christina's mother, Roxanna, closed her eyes during the emotional service. The clergy entered to the hymn"God of Day and God of Darkness," and a women's choir sang "Shepherd Me, O God."
A Kansas church group that had planned to protest outside the funerals of Christina as well as Judge John M. Roll has reportedly reversed its decision. The Westboro Baptist Church congregation is known for demonstrating at the funerals of U.S. soldiers.
The group's announcement earlier this week that it would protest caused a political backlash in Arizona. The state legislature passed an emergency measure prohibiting protests within 300 feet of any funeral service, and many residents reportedly said they would physically block the protesters from coming into view of the victims' families.
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