Services will be held Friday for St. Paul Seminary student John Lawrence, 30, who died in his sleep Monday.

According to the Rev. John Floeder, dean of seminarians, Lawrence had been visiting his mother in Central City, Iowa when he passed. The cause of death remains confidential.

Lawrence began studying to become a priest for the Diocese of Des Moines in January 2013 and was to be ordained in June 2018.

Floeder described Lawrence as someone who had “a great, gentle and pastoral heart.”

“He showed a great desire to serve others. One of the things he loved, during his seminary time at least, was going to visit people in prison,” Floeder said. “Most guys are afraid to go in there, but he just went in and would sit and talk with those folks. He just treated them like people. And he loved it.”

Floeder went on to say that Lawrence was a special part of the seminarian community.

“He was just this gentle guy that everyone in the house loved, and he kind of became one of the unofficial mascots of the house,” Floeder said. “He will be greatly missed. But we will continue to pray for him and pray for his family and trust that the Lord will reward him for his generous heart and his service.”

Visitation is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 4 at St. Stephens Catholic Church in Central City, Iowa. A funeral mass for Lawrence will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 5 at St. Stephen’s. Another memorial mass will take place at St. Thomas during the fall Semester. The date is to be determined.

Margaret Galush can be reached at galu4637@stthomas.edu.