A Catholic priest died after a crucifix fell during a livestreamed Mass in Ecuador. The cause is unclear.
A Roman Catholic priest died after a heavy crucifix fell on him during a livestreamed evening Mass in Guayaquil, Ecuador, on Saturday night, the Archdiocese of Guayaquil said.
The archdiocese identified the priest as Patricio Alfredo Sánchez Molinari, parish priest of the Perpetuo Socorro Church. Footage of the service shows the heavy crucifix detaching from the wall above the altar and striking him on the head as he celebrated Mass. He did not appear to see it falling. Worshippers cried out for help and rushed to his side while the social media broadcast continued, and a woman can be heard calling for an ambulance.
What caused the crucifix to fall has not been explained. Local authorities have not commented, The Associated Press reported, and church officials had not publicly given a reason, Fox News reported. The archdiocese mourned him in a statement on Facebook.
Sánchez belonged to the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, a Roman Catholic order known as the Redemptorists. He previously served as parish priest in Vinces, in Ecuador’s Los Ríos province, according to the Ecuadorian outlet Primicias. It reported that the archdiocese had congratulated him on the anniversary of his ordination a day before his death. Guayaquil is a coastal city about 164 miles (265 kilometers) southwest of the capital, Quito.
Information for this report was provided by The Associated Press through ABC News and by Fox News.