Hundreds of people showed up at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine Wednesday to pay their final respects to Bishop John J. Snyder.
Snyder, who was the eighth bishop of the Diocese of St. Augustine, died last Friday at the age of 93. Snyder led the Diocese for more than 20 years. He became the eighth bishop on Dec. 5, 1979.
His death marked a huge loss to the community. He was known as "the people's bishop." He was seen as someone who was approachable and genuinely interested in people's lives.
While leading the Diocese of St. Augustine, Snyder reached out to groups that often didn't feel welcomed in the church like the divorced, disabled, gays and lesbians, inmates, farmworkers, refugees and immigrants, the church said in a statement.
"He led the 17-county diocese during a period of tremendous growth, when the number of Catholics more than doubled, requiring the addition of eight new parishes, seven elementary schools, and two high schools, St. Francis Catholic Academy in Gainesville and the school on the Westside that bears his name," according to a news release by the Diocese of St. Augustine.
After the funeral mass on Wednesday, a committal was held at 2 p.m. at the San Lorenzo Catholic Cemetery.