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Matt Sepic

Prayer vigil tonight for missing Minnesotans

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St. Pius X Catholic Church
Parishioners at St. Pius X Catholic Church in White Bear Lake, Minn. have planned a candlelight prayer vigil for Barbara and Jerry Heil, who have been missing since the Costa Concordia cruise ship ran aground along the coast of Italy on Jan. 13, 2012.
MPR Photo/Matt Sepic

Friends of a Twin Cities couple missing in the cruise ship wreck on the Italian coast are holding a candlelight vigil Wednesday. Barbara and Jerry Heil are the only Americans among the more than 20 people who remain unaccounted for.

Jerry Heil, 69 and his wife Barbara, 70, have been members of St. Pius the 10th Catholic Church in White Bear Lake since 1973.

Their church has become the gathering point for those praying for the Heils' safe return.

Church Operations Director Larry Erickson says parishioners remain hopeful. He says the Heils have long been leaders in the parish.

"I see them every day going to Mass. What's really neat is they're always together. They walk side by side. They're as much one as they are the two people," he said.

Family members say the Heils looked forward to traveling in their retirement.

The candelight vigil starts at 7 p.m.

Gallery
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The Costa Concordia
Firefighters look at the emerged side of the cruise liner Costa Concordia on Jan. 17, 2012. The Costa Concordia grounded in front of the harbour of Isola del Giglio after hitting underwater rocks on Jan. 13. Rescuers searched for 29 people still unaccounted for from the wreck of a luxury liner off the coast as the arrested captain faced a hearing with investigators.
FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP/Getty Images
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St. Pius X Catholic Church
Parishioners at St. Pius X Catholic Church in White Bear Lake, Minn. have planned a candlelight prayer vigil for Barbara and Jerry Heil, who have been missing since the Costa Concordia cruise ship ran aground along the coast of Italy on Jan. 13, 2012.
MPR Photo/Matt Sepic
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Barbara and Jerry Heil
Barbara and Jerry Heil of White Bear Lake are the only remaining Americans yet to be located after a cruise ship capsized off the west coast of Italy Jan. 14, 2012.
Photo courtesy U.S. Embassy to Italy