CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Catholics gathered at Holy Cross Cemetery for an All Souls Day Mass on Monday, a day set aside for prayer and remembrance of loved ones who have died.
Bishop Mario Aviles of the Diocese of Corpus Christi led the Mass.
"Today is the day where the church gives us the opportunity to pray for our loved ones that have departed before us, and it's called All Souls' Day," Aviles said.
For some in attendance, the weight of loss was especially present. Jeannie Gage's family buried her brother-in-law at Holy Cross just one week before the Mass.
"My sister's husband Joe just recently passed away. We buried him last week here at this beautiful cemetery, so we came to celebrate and we're honored enough to be able to attend this Mass with our bishop," Gage said.
Holy Cross is the only cemetery owned by the Diocese of Corpus Christi.
Aviles said the day serves as a reminder to continue honoring loved ones, no matter how much time has passed.
"We have to always keep their memory alive and remember them with our prayers and to find the time to visit their grave site at the cemetery," Aviles said.
Siobhan O'Connor Prestia attended the Mass with friends and family members in mind — people she said she lost within the past year.
"Everyone was very reverent, and there was just a sense of touching heaven today," O'Connor Prestia said.
Even the way people are laid to rest at Holy Cross holds meaning. Aviles said the graves face east, symbolizing the Catholic belief in resurrection and the idea that death is not the end, but the beginning of another journey.
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