Hotel workers did not want to go back on the floor where the murderer was, so a priest blessed the floor at the request of the workers’ union.
Earlier this month, a murderous madman rented a suite at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino and committed one of the deadliest mass shootings in modern American history.
From his 32nd floor overlook, Stephen Paddock fired off hundreds rounds of bullets, killing dozens of people and injuring hundreds who were enjoying a concert down below before he took his own life.
As law enforcement officials continue their investigation into the killer’s motives, hotel workers at the Mandalay Bay have been reluctant to perform work on the same floor as the killer was, according to the Miami Herald.
So, the union UNITE-HERE, which represents many of the employees in Las Vegas hotels, asked Rev. Clete Kiley, a Catholic priest from Chicago to bless the floor.
The priest performed the ritual last week at the request of the Unite Here union of hotel workers. He said hotel workers had been given grief counseling and words of encouragement, but were hesitating to go back onto the floor.
Kiley said after the FBI returned the floor to the hotel, he took a glass of water and a palm branch from a tree in the lobby of the Mandalay Bay hotel to conduct the spiritual cleansing.
“As we opened the temporary door installed to seal the crime scene, I have to say it felt like I was pushed back — as if to keep me from entering,” he said. “In my mind, I found myself saying to myself: ‘Oh no, you have to go.’ I instinctively began to pray in silence: ‘St. Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle. Protect us against the wickedness and snares of the devil.'”
On October 18, according to Newsweek, Rev. Kiley was called to visit the Mandalay Bay hotel to comfort the traumatized staff.
As he was praying with “a hundred staff members,” a hotel manager asked him if he would perform a blessing.
Rev. Kiley said he blessed the water, his companion and himself and then every corner of the suite.
He also blessed every room along the hallway, saying he used the prayer for the blessing of the house. He added he expects other faith traditions will be invited to pray there, according to an Associated Press report.
