NewzAOL A Catholic priest died Saturday when a wooden crucifix fell from a wall and crushed him against the pulpit during a livestreamed Mass in the Ecuadorian city of Guayaquil. The Archdiocese of Guayaquil confirmed in a Facebook post that the Rev. Patricio Alfredo Sánchez Molinari, 53, had died.
The archdiocese said Sánchez Molinari was the parish priest of the Perpetuo Socorro Church in Guayaquil, about 165 miles southwest of Quito. Footage from the livestream, reviewed by USA TODAY, showed Molinari delivering a sermon on the nature of life and urging those present to consider the quality of time spent with God and family. “Dear brothers and sisters, one day all of us who are here will also die,” Molinari said in Spanish.
“Sometimes the time we have spent on things does not have the meaning of the time we spend with God. In that quality time that we give to God, our brothers, to our husband, wife, children, family, that time is the best spent.” The footage showed him leading the service from the altar and facing the congregation when the large crucifix detached from the wall behind him. Parishioners screamed after the crucifix struck him.
It is unclear what caused the crucifix to fall. Molinari belonged to the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, a Roman Catholic order founded in 1732 and approved by Pope Benedict XIV in 1749, according to the order’s website. “His dedication, priestly vocation, and love for others will remain forever in our hearts and will be an example of faith and hope for all who had the blessing of knowing him,” the Perpetuo Socorro Church wrote on Facebook.
In a Facebook post, the Archdiocese of Guayaquil thanked those who had sent condolences from “different parts of the world” and for the “prayers for the eternal rest of the soul of Fr. Patricio Sánchez.” The post Priest killed after crucifix falls on him during livestreamed Mass appeared first on NewZimbabwe.com.
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