John Paul Forget Remembered in Church Service

KSDK-- It was standing room only, inside St. Alban Roe Catholic Church in Wildwood, Saturday.

Friends and family of John Paul Forget, 20, attended a memorial service for the Chesterfield man who disappeared on his way home from college, for Christmas.

It happened in Cooper County, Missouri, on December 16. Forget was a passenger in a car that spun-out and slid into an Interstate 70 bridge over the Missouri River. After exiting the vehicle, Forget jumped from the bridge to get out of the way of on-coming traffic. Despite extensive search efforts, he has not been seen, since.

The service was a Catholic Mass celebrated by Msgr. Gregory Mikesch, pastor at St. Alban Roe. St. Louis Catholic Archdiocesan Administrator Bishop Robert Hermann took part in the service.

Bishop Hermann addressed John Paul's parents, from the podium.

Hermann said, "And on behalf of the Archdiocese of St. Louis and my fellow priests, we just extend to you, Michael and Emma, and your family of 15... our deepest condolences. When joy is shared, it is doubled. When sorrow is shared, it is cut in half. And I just want you to know that your sorrow is shared by the entire Archdiocese of St. Louis."

Forget's uncle, Timothy Forget, also spoke at the service. He is a Catholic priest in Nebraska.

Father Forget read from his nephew's journal. "'Dear Heavenly Father: I am now 20-years-old.' So this is within the month of December. 'You have thus far brought me through every high and every low in my life. From knowing your presence in a chapel, through all the hurts, sorrow, and joy in between.'"

John Paul's oldest sister, Elizabeth, also addressed the crowd. She spoke of the difficulty her brother had in finding a vocation.

Elizabeth said, "And then I realized, JP was living out his vocation in the time that was given to him. His struggles led him to so many different places, and so many different people, where he loved so many different souls and so many different souls were able to love him."

Several seminarians from Kenrick-Glennon Seminary attended the memorial service, as well. John Paul Forget attended seminary for a semester, after high school.