SAN ANTONIO – Parishioners at St. Benedict's Church gathered Monday morning for a special Memorial Day mass to honor fallen members of the military.
Instead, the service became a tribute to their parish priest, Father Eddie Bernal, who died Sunday night of an apparent heart attack.
"We celebrate his life and we mourn that we will not have him with us in this world," Father Steven Gamez said to somber parishioners. "But as a people of faith, we gather to acknowledge that we will see him again."
There was a collective feeling of sadness among parishioners.
"Sad for the community, sad for me and sad for everybody," George Elizondo, a parishioner, said as he entered the church. "A wonderful guy. (You) couldn't ask for anything else from him."
Elizondo was among the first people who showed up at the church rectory Sunday night after paramedics responded to a call. He said parishioners could only wait and pray.
"We waited and waited and they tried for a long time," he said. "They finally came out and said he didn't make it."
Bernal's popularity extended beyond the St. Benedict's parish. He hosted a television show on Catholic Television in San Antonio, and he loved the community -- a community that loved him back, according to Father Mike De Gerolami, pastor of St. Timothy's Church.
"Eddie could have lunch with a judge or some state representatives one time, and then go out and minister to the street people that everybody forgets," De Gerolami said. "He was a man with a great sense of humor and very humble. We're going to miss the way that he made us laugh."
Funeral services for Bernal are pending.