Adnkronos (Adnkronos) –
“One day, we too will die here, and sometimes the time we dedicate to material things doesn't have the same meaning as the time we spend with God.” These were the last words of Patricio Alfredo Sanchez Molinari, the priest in Ecuador who died after a cross fell from the wall and hit him on the head during Mass.
It happened in Guayaquil, in the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, where the priest was giving a sermon on death: "The quality time we dedicate to God, to our brothers and sisters, to our husbands, wives, children, and family—that is the time best spent," Molinari said, as reconstructed by the New York Post, before asking God to bless his congregation and beginning another prayer.
At that point, however, the enormous cross broke away from the wall behind him and fell, hitting him on the head.
The man was hit by the impact and, according to local media, later died, much to the dismay of the faithful who tried to help him. A silence fell in the church, quickly turning to despair, which also erupted online, as the mass was being livestreamed.
“We announce that our beloved Father Patricio Alfredo Sánchez Molinari, parish priest of the Church of Perpetual Help in the Central Vicariate, has passed to the House of the Father to enjoy His presence and His glory,” was the statement of condolence issued by the church.
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