The St. Francis of Assisi University Parish was standing room only for a memorial Catholic service for 20-year-old UA student Jimmy Gracey, who died in Barcelona last week while visiting friends.
Father Wyman Vintson led the congregation of hundreds of mostly college-aged people in Mass, where churchgoers prayed for Gracey’s soul and for comfort for those grieving his loss. Dozens of members of Gracey’s fraternity, Theta Chi, also attended.
Vintson’s sermon centered on the idea that grief “is not the end of the story.”
“The grief is real. It weighs on the heart. It changes the way the world feels, and makes even ordinary things feel difficult at times,” Vintson said. “And again, faith doesn’t ask us to deny that.”
Vintson said that Gracey has been placed into the hands of God.
“Life won’t be the same,” Vintson said. “Something has changed permanently. But that doesn’t mean that everything is lost, because the love that everyone carries and the love that Jimmy shared in his life is not erased by death. It’s held within the life of God.”
Gracey disappeared in Barcelona, Spain March 17 after going out to a night club and getting separated from his friends. He was found dead Thursday in the water off the Somorrostro Beach in Barcelona. Spanish police said that “everything points to an accidental death.”
At the end of Mass, Reagan McCloskey, Gracey’s fraternity brother, addressed the congregation. Churchgoers cried quietly as he described the impact Gracey had on his life.
“Jimmy was one of the most incredible guys I’ve ever met,” McCloskey said. “There’s so much to be learned from Jim, but the aspect of his life that stands out to me the most was that he cared about others more than himself.”
Gracey was a “true man of character and integrity” and was always open about his faith, McCloskey said, so much so that McCloskey encouraged him to run to be Theta Chi’s chaplain.
Gallery • 5 Photos CW / Oswin Colley Attendees embrace outside the memorial service.Fraternity president Cavin McLay said in a statement posted on the UA chapter’s Instagram page that he was a better person for having known Gracey.
“He was a role model, a warrior of Christ, and the kind of man every one of us should aspire to be,” McLay said.
Avery Jung, a junior studying public health and co-president of Bama Catholic, said she saw a strong sense of community at the service.
“The church was absolutely packed, which was such a blessing and such a gift, to see the impact that one person can have on so many,” she said.
Josh Wittmann, a junior majoring in marketing, said he took away from the service that God has a plan for everyone.
“Through the suffering, through the pain, through the tribulations, through whatever mystery that comes our way, whatever, no matter what, we can’t predict it. It’s all part of God’s greater plan,” Wittmann said.
The memorial Mass is one of several events this week to honor Gracey’s life. Students constructed a memorial on Denny Chimes Monday, and Theta Chi is hosting a memorial event at its house Tuesday at 7 p.m.
“My brothers and I will continue to honor Jimmy, and throughout this time of darkness, grief and despair, we trust in God’s plan,” McCloskey said. “We see a bright light, which is Jimmy’s life and memory, that will continue to touch even more and more men and women of Jesus.”
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