Beloved Louisiana priest killed in car accident

Bishop Michael G. Duca stated on the diocesan website that 62-year-old Father Mark Beard, pastor of St. Helena Catholic Church in Amite, died Aug. 2.

That afternoon, Father Beard had been traveling south on Interstate 55 near the town of Osyka, close to the Louisiana-Mississippi border, Cpl. Craig James, public affairs officer for the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol, told OSV News.

At approximately 1:24 p.m., Father Beard's vehicle veered off the road and struck a concrete culvert, overturning just one mile from the state line. He was pronounced dead at the scene, James said.

A second, nonfatal accident occurred shortly after the crash on the northbound side of the highway, although the two do not appear to be related, he added. Accident investigations for both are in process.

Father Beard had delivered the benedictions at both the first and second inaugurations of Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, himself a Catholic, who told local media that "a priest like Father Mark is just opening the door to everlasting life."

Speaking at a media event at Louisiana State University Aug. 3, the governor described Father Beard as "a wonderful man and a great pastor," as well as "a close personal friend" whom the governor and his wife had "known since he came to Amite in 2011 to be our pastor."

Edwards said Father Beard's loss had left "not just the St. Helena parish and staff, but people all over the state of Louisiana, many of whom are not even Catholic … grieving today."

"This one is really, really tough, because we watched him revitalize our church. And not just with the attendance, not just with the people who were coming to church who didn’t come before, although that was a big part of it, but it was so much more than that," said Edwards. "It was the way he was able to pastor to them, to us. … He wasn’t just dynamic; I think the fact that he became a priest relatively late in life and he had a lot of other experiences in the business world and so forth, and traveling around … he was able to relate to people perhaps better than, or at least differently, than priests who hadn’t had that experience."

A number of faithful have left tributes to Father Beard on the parish's Facebook page, describing him as "a true shepherd," "a great priest" and "a wonderful man of God."

In what would be his final Sunday homily, posted July 30 on the parish's Facebook page, Father Beard stressed the need to wholeheartedly choose Christ rather than accommodating the world and its ways.

"How good are you at straddling the fence? Or are you all in?" he asked. "You can't pick and choose. Either (God) is the great I AM or he's not. You can't go running both ways. You can't say, 'Man, I believe in the church, but I have exceptions to these rules.'"

In his homily, Father Beard addressed the importance of preparing for death and eternal judgment.

"The only thing that matters is your soul," he said. "Please, for the love of God, remember this. The nanosecond you and I die … before people walk away from your bed, before they leave to get in your cars, you have already been judged, and you're either in heaven, hell or purgatory. … And it's for all eternity."