'They may have been forgotten by the world, but not by God' Annual mass honoring Lafayette's unclaimed held Monday
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LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel celebrated a Mass of Christian Burial Monday for 24 men, women, and children, from throughout Lafayette Parish, whose bodies have gone unclaimed.
The annual event was held at St. John the Evangelist Cathedral.
At the beginning of the mass, Bishop Deshotel told the crowd that the unclaimed may have been forgotten by the world, but "not by God."
Dressed in white robes, he urged the crowd to pray for those who die alone, often victims of homelessness, rejection or considered a failure by the world.
Audience members were allowed to pay their respects and lay white roses on the caskets.
"May the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace," Deshotel concluded.