*An Ecuadorian priest was killed Saturday when a heavy cross crashed down on him at the altar. Moments earlier, he had reminded his congregation that every one of them would one day die.
Father Patricio Alfredo Sánchez Molinari was celebrating Mass at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Guayaquil, Newsweek reports. Cameras were rolling for an online broadcast, and clips of the freak accident quickly went viral. His final homily now reads like a farewell, as he urged churchgoers to weigh how they spend their hours.
“Dear brothers, one day all of us who are here will also die, and sometimes the time we have used on things does not have as much meaning as the time we use in God,” he told the parish, in remarks translated by Costa Rican outlet CR Hoy.
“In that time we give quality time to God, to our brothers, to our husband, to our wife, to our children, to our family; that time is the best spent,” Sánchez Molinari added.
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He then asked the faithful to keep God close. “Let us give Him that time, that space, that He may always be present in every moment of our lives,” he said.
A day later, the Archdiocese of Guayaquil honored its parish priest in an online tribute. “We announce that our beloved Fr. Patricio Alfredo Sánchez Molinari, CSsR., who served as parish priest of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in the Central Vicariate, has departed for the Father’s House to rejoice in His presence and glory,” it read.
“Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. Amen,” the statement continued
Sánchez Molinari was a Redemptorist, a member of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer. The Italian saint Alphonsus Liguori launched the order in 1732 to reach people living on society’s margins. Today it counts roughly 4,500 members working across 82 nations.
He previously served in Vinces, Los Ríos Province, before leading the downtown Guayaquil parish, Guayaquil News reported. He streamed his services on YouTube and his personal social media accounts.
What brought the cross down remains a mystery. It is unclear whether the structure or its mounting failed.
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