The Harvard community gathered in a series of meetings and vigils over the weekend, as students, faculty and staff continued to grapple with their response to Tuesday’s tragic events.

Vigils Friday night connected the campus to the nation on a day of national remembrance, as the University joined in mourning the thousands who died in New York, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania.

As the sun set around 7 p.m., the mood became pensive and solemn at separate gatherings in front of Eliot House and University Hall. Those in attendance held hundreds of candles, which flickered in the chilly evening wind—a scene echoed around the country as the nation turned to faith.

“Some people were really shaken up, so the praying helped to calm them down,” said Lindsay Yourman ’05, who attended the University Hall vigil.

After the service opened with a few minutes for silent prayer and meditation, the crowd joined in singing “Amazing Grace,” “My Country ’Tis of Thee,” and “The Star Spangled Banner.” The same songs could also be heard later that evening, during another vigil outside Adams House.

At Eliot House, the crowd remained quiet as they formed a candlelit circle around the courtyard.

“May this peace stand in the world of the living and of the dead,” Eliot House Master Lino Pertile said to the meditative group.

His speech was the only one of the vigil, where silence seemed to carry with it not just reverence, but also a sense of confusion, and even some ambivalence. It was a mix of sentiments that Pertile said is hard to escape.