Entertainment
Priest in Guayaquil killed when a huge crucifix topples onto him during a livestreamed Mass
The Rev. Patricio Alfredo Sánchez Molinari was saying Mass in Guayaquil when the big wooden cross over the altar broke loose and struck him on camera.
A heavy crucifix broke away from a church wall in Ecuador and killed the priest who was celebrating Mass beneath it. The church was streaming the service online when it happened.
What happened at the altar
On Saturday the Rev. Patricio Alfredo Sánchez Molinari was presiding over the service at his Guayaquil parish, the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. About 27 minutes in, the big wooden cross that hung behind the altar came free.
The stream recorded the cross tipping forward and hitting the priest near the altar while he spoke to the congregation.
Worshippers rushed to help
The Mass stopped at once. People in the pews reacted in horror and hurried forward to help him.
The archdiocese confirms his death
The Archdiocese of Guayaquil announced his death on Sunday in a statement posted to Instagram. Church leaders mourned their parish priest and sent their sympathy to his family and to his fellow members of the religious community.
Beyond running the parish as its pastor, he was a member of a Catholic religious order known as the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer.
No explanation yet
Nobody knows yet why the crucifix came off the wall. Church officials have not said publicly what made it fall.
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