By Veronica Novotny
Staff Writer
After receiving the news that a Franciscan University student had passed away the day before, Christ the King Chapel offered the 10 a.m. Mass Saturday for the repose of the soul of sophomore Cassandra “Cassie” Martinez.
Martinez, an English major from Fort Worth, Texas, passed away Friday at Trinity Medical Center. According to a special bulletin sent to students Friday night, her brother, junior Roberto Martinez, was with her at the hospital.
On Saturday morning, students filled the chapel at 9:30 a.m. to pray a rosary. The rosary and following Mass were offered “for the repose of Cassandra’s soul and God’s peace and comfort for her family and friends,” according to the special bulletin, addressed from the Rev. Dave Pivonka, TOR.
At the Mass, the Rev. Dominic Foster, TOR, addressed the university community’s grief in his homily on the parable of the prodigal son.
“Brothers and sisters, we are taught that we have a God who is radically, madly in love with sinful and imperfect people,” Foster said. “And on a day like today, that’s good news.”
Martinez was a member of Daughters of Divine Mercy household, which has a devotion to the apparitions made to St. Faustina Kowalska that emphasize the mercy of God for sinful humanity.
Foster said, “We woke up today, brothers and sisters, and we found ourselves a community of grief. We take comfort in the fact that our sister woke up yesterday and cried ‘hallelujah’ as she discovered the God who welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
According to the special bulletin, details of the funeral arrangements and a memorial Mass will be shared by the university at a later date.