Law enforcement officials confirm there was a deadly wreck north of I-55 in Mississippi in which a Catholic priest was killed. Father Mark Beard, the pastor at St. Helena Catholic Church in Amite, died in the wreck. The accident was on Interstate 55 just north of the Mississippi & Louisiana state lines on Wednesday, Aug. 2 around 1:30pm.
Early reports from the Mississippi Highway Patrol claim Father Beard was driving south on I-55 when his vehicle went off the roadway, hit a median and ran into a culvert. His vehicle overturned and Father Beard did not survive the crash.
Father Beard is originally from Baton Rouge. He was a graduate of Catholic High and went to LSU for college. He was on vacation in Medjugorje when his friends tell UWK that he decided he wanted to be a priest. Friends added Father Beard has done some incredible work in Amite and was “truly an incredible person and truly concerned about everyone’s souls.”
Friends of Father Mark Beard tell UWK that he had property in Mississippi that he went to often.
St. Helena Catholic Church will hold pray a Rosary in the church at 8pm for Father Beard on Aug. 2nd.