The religious service at the wake for Mayor Fuad Noman (PSD) this Thursday (March 27) at the headquarters of the Municipal Executive Branch was officiated by Father Vinícius Maciel, responsible for the Cause of Canonization of Father Eustáquio, to whom Fuad was a fervent devotee. The mayor grew up in the region of the church that bears the religious figure's name, in the neighborhood of the same name, in the northwest region of Belo Horizonte.

Maciel said that the mayor frequently visited the church. "(Fuad) always was and is a devout follower of Father Eustáquio. Many times we saw him and Mrs. Mônica (the mayor's wife) discreetly enter through the side of the church to participate in the masses," the religious leader recounted.

The priest also stated that the mayor had a special fondness for a group of nuns from the church. "He particularly had a great affection and care for the social work of the Ladies of Charity." The group, which uses Father Eustáquio's church as a base, works in contact with the needy population.

Father Eustáquio is now a Blessed, a status granted to him in 2006 after the Vatican verified a miracle: the cure, by the priest, of a priest suffering from mouth cancer. If another miracle is confirmed, Father Eustáquio could become a saint. However, there is currently no investigation in this regard by the Vatican, according to Father Maciel.

Source: O Tempo newspaper