ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The San Sebastian Catholic Church in St. Augustine was packed Monday night for a prayer vigil to remember Father Rene Robert.
Outside the church, the flag flew at half-staff as hundreds of people who knew and loved Father Rene gathered inside for prayer and reflection after investigators positively identified his remains last week.
ONLINE: Diocese of St. Augustine's Father Rene webpage
Father Rene's body was found April 18 in woods near Augusta, Georgia, about a week after the St. Augustine priest was reported missing.
Detectives said Steven Murray, 28, who was caught earlier this month in Aiken, South Carolina, kidnapped and killed Father Rene, 71.
Father Terry Morgan, a priest at Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine, knew Father Rene for 18 years. He said from the day he got word that Father Rene was missing, he hoped for the best but feared the worst.
"We've told Rene, 'Be careful. You can get yourself killed,'" Morgan said. "I had a gut feeling from the get-go. I think the sheriff was -- the tone of his voice, not just in the press conference, but in his phone calls to us -- the tone of his voice was really like this doesn't end well."
Kate Arnold said Father Rene was part of her life since she was 10 years old.
"(He was) just a really, really powerful force in a lot of people's live. A lot of people who really need some help and Father Rene was really that guy," Arnold said. "I was going to through my phone today and I found some old text messages and they're going to stay there."
There was an outpouring of emotions from those in attendance at the vigil -- evidence of how many lives Father Rene touched. Many people said they are hanging on to the memories they have of him and the legacy he's leaving behind.
"We've had this little guy who showed us the spirit of St. Francis isn't just good feelings. It's putting your life on the line. It's literally putting your life on the line," Morgan said.
Jorge Vega said he had just immigrated to the United States with his family from Puerto Rico when he first met Father Rene.
"Father Rene was like a father to us. He helped us -- not only my family, my son, my wife and kids -- but also the whole Hispanic community. He was like a father to all of us," Vega said.
Vega said Father Rene immediately became like family and he even offered the first-ever Spanish language Mass in the St. Augustine area.
"We miss him. We miss him a lot," Vega said.
McField Bowman, another friend of Father Rene's, said outreach was part of who the priest was.
"He was a very considerate, forgiving, loving person. He helped wherever he possibly could and I thought he really was a man of God."
Bowman said he'll remember Father Rene's humility the most.
"He was a very humble person and he helped those who needed help," Bowman said. "He would always go down to a level, people below him, where he could help. And he always did help."
The Diocese of St. Augustine said the funeral Mass will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the church.
Father John Gillespie, a priest at San Sebastian, said the sanctuary holds about 1,300 people. He said he is going to bring in extra chairs for the service because he expects substantially more people than that to come.
ONLINE: Sign a guest book for Father Rene's family
“We had a whole spectrum of people, Catholic and non-Catholic. I said at the time, and I will say it again, but the community that has been robbed the most is the deaf community,” Gillespie said.
Father Rene's siblings remember their brother
Father Rene's siblings traveled to Florida from New York after their brother was reported missing. They're staying until his funeral in St. Augustine.
“He loved you. It didn't matter, and that's the hardest thing -- to have them taken from us because he loved so many people,” Debbie Bedard, Father Rene's sister, said. “I know he was reaching out to this gentleman, and I know a part of him loved him.”
They're planning two funerals, one in his hometown in New York and another in Florida, where he served for more than 35 years.
“It has been very hard,” Debbie said. “We are taking it one day at a time.”
“One day at a time that's all we can do,” Brian Robert, Father Rene's brother, said.
Debbie said Father Rene's family sees the St. Augustine community as family now.
“We've got to honor everything. We've got to respect the people, his other family here in St. Augustine,” Brian said.
They said everyone will be welcome at Father Rene's funeral in St. Augustine
Saying goodbye won't be easy, they said. It might be the hardest thing his family has ever done, but his siblings believe he's in a better place.
“He's with Mom and Dad,” Brian said.
“No doubt about that," Debbie said. "We know he is there."
They're holding it together by talking about the good times, the jokes and the smiles.
“He just loved helping other people. He cared for people so much, like they were his own family out there,” Debbie said. “And he wanted to make sure they had food on the table, money in their pockets, and that is exactly what he was doing (when he died).”
Father Rene, who was adopted, told his family that he wanted to be a priest when he was just 3 years old. He was born to it, his sister said.
“After he was adopted by my mom and dad, she took him to church, and he ran out into the aisle from the pew and said, 'I want to go up there. I want to be with that man,'” Debbie recalled.
Brian said the priest started out as an altar boy.
After high school and college, he went to seminary and became a Franciscan brother. He learned sign language and moved from his hometown in Albany, New York, to Florida to minister to the deaf.
His siblings said he never strayed, leaving behind a positive legacy that included working with prisoners and ex-cons. Now, his loved ones are struggling to say goodbye.
“We have our moments. We start thinking about what we had with our brother, and you know those are the moments that are tough,” Brian said.
Father Rene's family has shed lots of tears, but his siblings couldn't help but laugh and smile while talking about their brother.
“He was just special in every way. I called him a saint,” Debbie said. “When he'd come home, I'd say, 'Oh, here's the saint,' because, you know, I'm his sister. You've got to pick on him.
Authorities positively ID remains
Burke County Sheriff Greg Coursey said Wednesday that an autopsy showed that Father Rene died of multiple gunshot wounds. Due to the condition of the body after more than a week in the woods, the coroner could not positively confirm Wednesday that the remains were those of Father Rene.
Dental records were expedited Thursday from Florida to help confirm his identity.
Murray was ordered held without bond Wednesday afternoon in Burke County on a charge of malice murder. Bond for Murray could be set later by a Superior Court judge.
Murray didn't say much at the hearing, but spoke freely as he was being led from the courthouse by the sheriff.
"I have mental problems and I lost control of myself," Murray told reporters as he was being led out of the courthouse. "If anyone loved Father Rene, they will forgive me because he was a man of God, and forgiveness is forgiveness."
UNCUT: Murray talks as escorted from court
Father Rene was last seen April 10 and was reported missing after he didn't attend a parishioner's funeral two days later. His car was found April 13 after Murray crashed it into a tree and was arrested nearby. Murray was extradited to St. Johns County on charges of aggravated fleeing and attempting to elude law enforcement, and was held there until April 18, when he contacted detectives and said he would show them where he left the body in a wooded area south of Augusta.
St. Johns County Sheriff David Shoar said detectives believe that Father Rene was killed sometime between 8 and 11 p.m. April 10 in Georgia.
Murray has an extensive criminal history and also faces charges of aggravated fleeing in St. Johns County and could face a kidnapping charge from Jacksonville.