The authorities thought she was between eight and 10 years old, she was so petite.  She was one of the 15 undocumented immigrants who had been killed in the July 22 one-vehicle wreck near Goliad.

Although Adrian Fulton of the Victoria Mortuary and Cremation Service and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had received hundreds of calls and e-mails from throughout the U.S. by those looking for missing family members, no one had claimed the little girl.

So Mr. Fulton, who also owns the Goliad Funeral Home, spoke with Rev. Raphael Baidoo, O.Ss.T., pastor of Immaculate Conception Church, and with the community, decided to “adopt” the small, unknown girl and hold her funeral and have her buried in their community.

It was all planned: the date was set for August 22, the feast of the Queenship of Mary; pall-bearers were chosen; In Memory of ... cards had been printed; flowers were ordered; and then just days before the funeral was to take place, they received word that the parents of Miss “Known Only to God” had been found.

The authorities learned that she wasn’t a little girl, but a young woman.  She was 17-year-old Juana Tiniguar-Aguilar, of Guatemala. 

“We didn’t know her; she didn’t know us, but in all circumstances we thank God,” Father Ralph said in the funeral Mass homily.

“She was very young.  Most of us can identify with Juana because at the age we’re on fire with enthusiasm, but we become victims of someone’s greed, as happened here,” he said.

“At that age, one says, ‘Oh, I want to go to America ...,’” he said, “but her dream to come here for a better life wouldn’t come true.”

“Her death reminded me of Moses,” Father Ralph said. “After going through all the pain, the thick and the thin, he died before seeing the Promised Land.”

“This is every parents’ worst nightmare – their child is involved in an accident and dies ... but luckily their daughter’s body is not going to be buried in a strange place,” Father Ralph said, “but will go back to her parents.”

 “Her death and the death of her companions was very sad; nevertheless, it’s a chance for us to reevaluate our own sense of humility and gratitude, then she didn’t die in vain. And, it doesn’t hurt to be grateful for the blessing of this country.  Juana and her companions, thank you for reminding us.”

That evening the parish also held a memorial service for all 15 victims of the vehicle accident.

 (Click each picture  to enlarge)