COVINGTON, La. — It's the first Sunday parishioners at St. Peter Catholic Church in Covington are attending mass after Father Otis Young and Pastoral Assistant, Ruth Prats, were killed last week.
Parishioner, Michael Maples, said they're lifting up prayers for the priest, Ruth and even the suspect.
“Father Otis would be," Maples said. "He would be the first one to say, forgive him he knew not what he was doing.”
Jeff Poyer is an usher at the church.
“I saw tears today. From people I know. It’s just," Poyer said. "There’s a lot of us still in disbelief.”
Antonio Tyson faces two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree kidnapping.
Yesterday the St. Tammany Sherriff's Office said Tyson tried to escape the St. Tammany jail.
Tyson was transferred to Angola and now faces an additional "attempted escape" charge.
The Sheriff's Office also said that another man, David Burns, was arrested for trying to help Tyson escape.
“No one should go through what Father Otis and Ruth went through, but you know, why them?" Poyer said.
“All kinds of questions, no answers," Maples said. "And some of the questions we have, we really don’t want answers to.”
Maples said what hurts the most is Fr. Otis never abandoned them, even after having a major stroke.
“He wanted to come back to his people, his flock, and lead us. You know as any good priest would want to do," Maples said, "And that’s another reason it hurts so much. He wasn’t just our priest, he was our father.”
Father Otis now leaves behind a rich legacy at St. Peter's.
“Father Otis decided that the Parish was going to build that for the school kids. For St. Peter’s school," Poyer said. "And that’s one of his many legacies.”
In fact, you don't have to look far to be reminded of Ruth either. Sunday morning several parishioners picked up angels off of an Angel Tree to buy gifts for those in need.
"I’ve been here 13 years and I just found out this morning, this was one of Ruth’s special projects," Poyer said. “We probably don’t know the depth of what Ruth did.”
Archbishop Gregory Aymond was there Sunday to support the church.
He will also say the funeral mass on Monday for Father Otis. Visitation is from 9 a.m.-noon. The funeral takes place at noon.