For Chaplain Kelly the gigantic funeral was a delicate balancing act, requiring him to ensure a pastoral presence for the devastated family without ignoring a community of police officers mourning one of their own. Added to that, the funeral quickly became a media event.

“People said, ‘Oh, it’s going to be televised, it’s going to be on the radio’ and this and that. That impacted my nervous system to a big degree,” said Kelly. “That’s when I went to my own circle of friends and my congregation and people were praying and knew the mantle that was placed on me.”

It took all weekend to settle on an order of service that ensured the family was comforted and the police and city were served, said Kelly. On the day of the funeral, the enormous numbers were a surprise to the veteran chaplain. It took two hours to usher them all into the convention centre.

“Day of, coming down University (Avenue), to see the masses out — I mean masses not only of police but of Torontonians. In the coach we had all the windows down and you couldn’t hear a word. It was eerie,” he said. “The reverence, the respect, the quietness.”

Kelly went through a bit of worry wondering whether he had the right version of the Policeman’s Prayer. Nobody could seem to find the copy Sgt. Russell carried with him.

“To the helpless, may I be a helper. To the distressed, may I be a comfort. To those who plan evil, may I be a deterrent. And to those who have carried out their plans, may I be a sword of justice so they will no longer prey on the weak and hurting... And if, in the course of your plan, I find this day to be my last, the concern of my life is that you would be the Father to my children and the provider to my wife,” reads the prayer.

In the end Kelly didn’t have to work hard to set a Christian tone for the funeral. Catholic volunteer police chaplain Fr. Jim Hannah read a passage of Scripture. But, unasked, so did Governor General David Onley and former Toronto police chief and Conservative MP Julian Fantino as they addressed the crowd.

“Both of those men of integrity and leadership, both went to the Scriptures. That’s where we go, in my opinion,” said Kelly. “When the heat’s on, we want something that has been around for a while, that is meaningful.”

It’s at funerals that the oft-ignored Christian bedrock of people’s lives will emerge, said Kelly.

“In policing — and I would say fire and EMS and probably emerg nurses — it’s really hard to keep the faith stuff going, the Church stuff going,” he said. “I try whenever I can to encourage people to keep that faith going, to say it’s those faith roots that make you a better person, help you in decisions and judgments and give you moorings.”

When tragedy strikes, moorings matter and they’re most often found in the Gospel, said Kelly.

“I think people really want something. They want to be encouraged. They want hope. They want us to say here’s something. This other stuff is crap. This other stuff shouldn’t happen. But here’s something we can hold onto.”

It was a high pressure week for the chaplain.

“My week started easing up when I said ‘Amen’ to the Francis of Assisi prayer,” he said.