For the children of St. Benedict Catholic School in Carrolltown, what was supposed to be a leisurely event filled with circus fun turned out to be a horrible catastrophe.

Billed as "America's Favorite Show," the Franzen Brothers Circus came to a terrible halt during its Wednesday night May 7th performance in Cambria County when one of its tigers mauled its trainer, Wayne Franzen, 50, to death. Authorities say that the tiger, Luca, apparently lunged out at the new bright costume Franzen had been wearing. By the time his son Brian Franzen and Patty Frederick -- a nurse from the audience -- came to his side, Franzen was gored beyond hope.

The eyes of sobbing children were shielded by their parents, and announcers urged people in the crowd to leave quietly and orderly. Some of the witnessing children of St. Benedict Catholic School (who sponsored the Wednesday night performance as a fund-raiser for its Home-School Association) were taken to a nearby school and given counseling.

Although Brian Franzen canceled its Thursday afternoon performance, he prepared for the evening show, sans the tiger act. He cited the need for the continued shows in order to meet the financial needs of the circus, regardless of his father's tragic death.

Wayne Franzen was a former shop teacher before he founded the circus 24 years ago. After looking into the attack, Federal animal inspectors found no cause of the attack or violations in the way the 6-year-old male tiger was kept.

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