Grosse Pointe Park church prepares for funeral of MSU shooting victim Brian Fraser
GROSSE POINTE PARK, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) – Over the last several days, St. Paul on the Lake Catholic Church has brought comfort and hope to those hurting over the passing of Michigan State University sophomore Brian Fraser.
"We pray for each other and support each other as a community of faith," Father James Bilot, Pastor at St. Paul on the Lake Catholic Church, said.
The church saw Fraser grow up before them.
It's where he was baptized, received communion, and attended school through the eighth grade.
"At the funeral mass itself. That is when we focus on the resurrection of Jesus Christ in his conquering darkness with the light. And then how Brian is incorporated into that light because of his faith in the sacraments of the church, and his parents witness to that faith in his life," Bilot said.
Besides Fraser's devotion to his faith, friends have described him as a leader doing several service projects during his time in the youth ministry program and serving as president of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity at MSU while studying business.
Those who loved him will say final goodbyes at St. Paul Saturday morning.
"We're prepared as best we can to accommodate as many people as we can in the church and the gathering space, and we have speakers outside even if people have to stay outside," Bilot said
All to honor a life cut short by a senseless act of violence.
"As a community, if we're going to show that we're going to overcome this, then we need to be a people of hope. And then we're going to turn this tragedy, and we're going to look for the grace and the goodness that can come from it," Bilot said.
Friday evening, hundreds of people attended Fraser's visitation at the Verheyden funeral home at 16300 Mack Avenue.
Fraser will lie in state at St. Paul on the Lake Catholic Church on Saturday beginning at 9:30 a.m. The funeral service will begin at 11 a.m.