Catholics in Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest city, are mourning Father Patricio Alfredo Sánchez Molinari, a Redemptorist priest who died on Saturday 17 October after a crucifix came loose and fell on him while he was celebrating Mass in his own parish church.

He was the parish priest of Nuestra Señora del Perpetuo Socorro, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, in the Central Vicariate of the Archdiocese of Guayaquil. The Mass was being streamed live on social media, as many of his parish celebrations were.

His religious order, the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, has published a tribute and biographical note. It says he was 52, and that he died during the week of the 21st anniversary of his ordination.

Photo: Arabsalam / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0), cropped

What happened at the Mass

The Redemptorists say Father Patricio died on the night of Saturday 17 October "while celebrating Holy Mass at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Guayaquil," and that "a crucifix in the sanctuary came loose and fell on him."

The order's Superior General, Father Rogério Gomes, wrote to his confreres after several of them asked whether the reports were true. "Unfortunately, the news is true," he wrote. "According to the information received, while he was celebrating the Eucharist, the image of Christ located at the altar became detached, struck Fr. Patricio, and caused his death. This tragic accident fills us with profound sadness and sorrow."

BBC News Mundo reported that the large wooden crucifix fell about two minutes after he finished his homily, as he returned to the altar and the Mass moved into its prayers of petition. The BBC said a woman assisting near the altar called out for someone to ring an ambulance.

His order says he died while he was celebrating Mass. The Spanish-language site Alianza al Día reported that people in the church helped him and that he was taken to hospital, where he died. The archdiocese's statement, as reported by La Vanguardia, doesn't say whether he died at the scene or later, and it doesn't give a cause of death.

What he said in his homily

In the homily before the accident, Father Patricio asked the people in the pews to think about how much of their time they give to God, compared with passing things like their phones and television series, the BBC reported.

The BBC quoted him in Spanish. "Queridos hermanos, un día todos los que estamos aquí también vamos a morir," he said. In our translation, that's: "Dear brothers and sisters, one day all of us here are going to die too."

He went on: "Y a veces el tiempo que hemos utilizado en cosas, que no tienen tanto sentido, no es como el tiempo que utilizamos en Dios. En ese tiempo que damos de calidad a Dios, a nuestros hermanos, al esposo, la esposa, a los hijos, a la familia. Ese tiempo ese el mejor gastado."

Our translation of that passage: "And sometimes the time we've spent on things that don't mean very much isn't like the time we spend on God. The quality time we give to God, to our brothers and sisters, to a husband, a wife, our children, our family. That time is the best spent."

What the church has said

The Archdiocese of Guayaquil confirmed his death on the Saturday night in a statement signed by its archbishop, Cardinal Luis Gerardo Cabrera Herrera, according to the Guayaquil newspaper Extra.

The statement, as quoted by La Vanguardia, said Father Patricio, "quien se desempeñaba como párroco de la iglesia Perpetuo Socorro en la Vicaría Centro, ha partido a la Casa del Padre para gozar de su presencia y su gloria." In our translation: he, "who served as parish priest of the Perpetual Help church in the Central Vicariate, has departed to the Father's House to enjoy His presence and His glory."

The archdiocese said it was joining "en oración por el eterno descanso de su alma," in prayer for the eternal rest of his soul, in our translation. It offered its solidarity and affection to the Redemptorist family, and to his relatives and friends.

The BBC quoted the archdiocese thanking people for condolences sent "desde diferentes partes del mundo," from different parts of the world, and "especialmente, sus oraciones por el eterno descanso del alma del P. Patricio Sánchez," especially their prayers for the eternal rest of his soul (both our translations).

Cardinal Cabrera celebrated a Mass in his memory on the Sunday, in the same church, the BBC reported.

Questions that haven't been answered

Nobody has publicly explained why the crucifix came loose. The BBC said neither the authorities nor the archdiocese had immediately offered any information about it, and La Vanguardia noted that the archdiocese's statement says nothing about the crucifix or how it was fixed in place.

We couldn't find any public statement from Ecuadorian police or other authorities about an investigation. The BBC reported that local media on Monday showed work under way to put the image of Christ back on the cross in the church.

A priest of the Redemptorists

Father Patricio was born on 6 November 1973, according to his order. He made his religious profession on 15 August 2000 and was ordained a priest on 15 October 2005.

His ministry took him to Loja, Durán, Vinces, Manta and finally Guayaquil. In Vinces, in Los Ríos province, the order says he was a pioneer of the Redemptorist mission and spent several years as parish priest of San Lorenzo, "bringing the Gospel to the most remote rural areas." In Manta and in Guayaquil, he especially promoted Eucharistic adoration.

"Those who knew him remember him as a simple, calm and fraternal priest, close to young people, a collaborator with educational institutions and attentive to the well-being of the sick," the order wrote.

Extra reported that the archdiocese had marked his ordination anniversary only the day before his death, posting that he had completed "un año más como presbítero al servicio de Cristo y de su Santa Iglesia," another year as a priest in the service of Christ and his Holy Church, in our translation.

The Redemptorists were founded by St Alphonsus Liguori in 1732, and they now work in more than 80 countries. The order has a long bond with the image of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, the title of his parish. Pope Pius IX entrusted the original icon to the Redemptorists in 1866, and it's still venerated in their church of St Alphonsus in Rome.

The order closed its tribute with a prayer. "May Mary, Mother of Perpetual Help, accompany him in his final encounter with the Redeemer and console his family, his fellow confreres in the Andean-Caribbean Province, and the entire parish community of Guayaquil."

Where the reports differ

A few details differ between the reports. His order says he was 52, which fits the birth date it published, while the BBC gave his age as 53. Extra and the New York Post place the church in the south of Guayaquil, while the BBC says it's in the city centre. The archdiocese lists the parish in its Central Vicariate. On where he died, his order says it was during the Mass, while Alianza al Día reported that he died in hospital. And his order dates his ordination to 15 October, while Extra reported the archdiocese's anniversary post on Friday 16 October.