Priest dies in Guayaquil when a cross falls during Mass
Father Patricio Alfredo Sánchez Molinari was leading a livestreamed Mass. The archdiocese confirmed his death; no one has said why the cross came loose.
A wooden cross came loose from the wall behind the altar on Saturday night and struck the Rev. Patricio Alfredo Sánchez Molinari on the head, killing the pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help church in Guayaquil, Ecuador's main port. The Mass was being livestreamed on social media.
The cross hung above the altar and fell suddenly during a moment of prayer. In the video, worshippers can be heard screaming and a woman asks someone to call an ambulance.
The Archdiocese of Guayaquil confirmed his death in a statement signed by Cardinal Luis Cabrera Herrera, who sent "solidarity, affection and love" to the Redemptorist family. Sánchez belonged to the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, an order founded in 1732 that is present in about 80 countries.
Neither the archdiocese nor local authorities have explained why the cross came loose or whether the structure will be inspected. The church called a Mass in the pastor's memory. A day before the accident, the archdiocese had congratulated him on social media on the anniversary of his ordination.
