ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — After a priest was stabbed in downtown St. Augustine Wednesday, leaders from his church say the tragedy is overshadowed by a miracle because the priest is expected to survive.
Reverend Matt Marino, rector of Trinity Parish, is expected to leave the hospital's intensive care unit this weekend, according to church leaders, after police said a woman he didn't know walked up to him and stabbed him.
"It was frightening, horrifying in fact," said The Reverend Curt Benham, assistant rector of Trinity Parish. "And yet we saw miracles happen."
Benham learned Marino had been stabbed by a stranger, police said, with what witnesses describe as a steak knife while getting coffee near their church. The woman charged with the crime, Arieana Gibbs, is now behind bars.
"On that morning on the street, the person who attacked him, he greeted them with a smile on his face the same way he has greeted everyone else," said Reverend Caleb Jones, another assistant rector.
Jones said Marino practiced what he preached.
"There is no doubt in my mind that what Father Matt and what all of us want the young lady who committed this act to know is that they are loved," Jones said.
Through a test of the faith, these church leaders' faith remains strong.
"A question we do get asked often is, 'Do you forgive this woman who did this horrible thing to Father Matt?'" said Benham. "Because we have been forgiven completely by God, the answer is 'yes,' we do forgive this woman."
First Coast News will continue to follow this story during Marino's recovery.