CLEVELAND -- Cleveland police announced Monday that a man training to be a Franciscan brother was arrested in the shooting death of a Roman Catholic priest.

Daniel Montgomery, 37, was charged Monday with aggravated murder and aggravated arson in the death of the Rev. William Gulas (pictured, below). Montgomery (pictured, left) is believed to have acted alone in the murder, based on physical evidence and the statements from witnesses.

WEWS reported that Gulas' body was discovered after a fire Saturday in the St. Stanislaus Church's rectory. Autopsy results showed the priest had been struck on the top of his head and died from a gunshot wound to the chest -- not the fire.

Gulas, 69, was pastor of St. Stanislaus, located at East 65th Street and Baxter Avenue in Slavic Village.

Authorities believe the fire was likely set to cover up the murder; however, an official cause of the fire has not been determined. Officials have not found the murder weapon, NewsChannel5 reported.

Investigators said it appears Montgomery did not get a positive review in his seminary training. Montgomery was reportedly going to be transferred, although the reason is unclear. Gulas apparently had nothing to do with that decision.

Montgomery comforted parishioners on Saturday as Gulas' body was removed from the church rectory. He said he tried to put out the flames, but that they were just too high.

Initially, parishioners at the church thought their pastor died in the fire.

Officials said they believe very strongly that Montgomery is responsible, based on physical evidence and statements from Montgomery and several witnesses.

Cleveland police said Montgomery will be arraigned at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Remembering Gulas

Gulas' death is hard enough for adults to understand, but what about the children at St. Stanislaus School?

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Hear From Suspect Vigil Held

NewsChannel5's Tracy Carloss reported that grief counselors spent Monday trying to answer questions about why their beloved priest was murdered. Gulas was instrumental in the students' lives.

"He did all the kids' Masses good with the children," said Carla Caborowski, a mother. "They all loved him. He was close to the kids, always at the plays -- (he was a) nice man, (an) all-around nice guy."

There was a tone of shock, disbelief and sadness at the school Monday.

Pamela Alkins tried to explain the unexplainable to her daughter.

"I just told her there are mean people in the world (and that) sometimes things happen," she said.

A makeshift memorial outside of the church has some of the marks of children, with stuffed animals and flowers for the man who was the heart of the church.

At 5:30 p.m., parishioners gathered at the church for a vigil in memory of Gulas. Mayor Jane Campbell spoke during the service.

Bishop Anthony Pilla issued a statement about the priest's murder, which said, in part: "As we struggle in disbelief with the horrifying nature of the incidents at St. Stanislaus, we look to God to bring us peace and understanding ... We continue to fully cooperate with authorities during the investigation and pray that God will give us the strength to endure these troubling events."