Patricio Alfredo Sánchez Molinari, a 53-year-old Redemptorist priest, died Saturday after a large wooden crucifix fell and struck him during an evening Mass in Guayaquil, Ecuador. He was celebrating at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, where he served as parish priest.
The crucifix was mounted behind the altar and fell forward while Sánchez was facing the congregation during a prayer. Livestream footage shows the impact and his collapse behind the altar. Worshippers rushed to help and called for an ambulance as the broadcast continued.
The Archdiocese of Guayaquil confirmed Sánchez’s death in a statement signed by Cardinal Luis Cabrera Herrera. The archdiocese expressed condolences to the priest’s family, friends and Redemptorist community. No official explanation for why the crucifix detached had been provided, and local authorities had not publicly commented.
Sánchez had previously served as pastor of San Lorenzo de Vinces, about 65 miles north of Guayaquil. Religious communities in Guayaquil, Cuenca and Vinces issued messages of mourning after the video spread widely online; the parish removed the original recording because it contained sensitive images.
A memorial Mass was held Sunday at the church where Sánchez died. The Redemptorists, a Catholic missionary congregation founded in 1732, counted Sánchez among its members; the order has a presence in 80 countries.