Monsignor Robert Weiss, who helped and comforted his community during Newtown's darkest days, celebrated his final mass on Wednesday.
Lovingly known to his parish at St. Rose of Lima as "Father Bob," Weiss retired after nearly 25 years at the church.
He was obligated to submit his resignation in 2021, but asked for an extension to reach stay with his parish through a difficult milestone -- 10 years since the Sandy Hook tragedy.
He spoke to NBC Connecticut's Heidi Voight in 2022 about why it was so important for him to stay.
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"I think, you know, Sandy Hook was certainly just a reminder of what I think we're called to be those people, you know, the, in the midst of that horrible tragedy, the beauty of humanity really surfaced. And even though what happened was so evil and so dark, the mantra in this community was that darkness is not going to swallow us. This is not going to define us who we are, you know, we are a community of light, we're a community of faith, a community of love, and we want to keep that alive."
St. Rose of Lima was full for Weiss' final mass and he received multiple standing ovations from his parishioners.
"Stay firm in your faith. And trust how much the Lord loves you. I hope you always know just how much I love every one of you. And so I say just my final two words – thank you," he told them.
