On Saturday, 17 October, at Nuestra Señora del Perpetuo Socorro church in Guayaquil, Father Patricio Alfredo Sánchez Molinari died during a livestreamed Mass. The Archdiocese of Guayaquil confirmed the death. The Independent and AFP: a wooden crucifix, fixed to the wall behind the altar, came loose and struck him. Why it came loose is not publicly established.

He was the parish priest. He was facing the congregation, so he did not see it fall. The Independent: it hit the back of his head. People shouted for an ambulance; the stream stopped. Crews could not revive him. We have not described the clip. It is not a spectacle.

The archdiocese wrote that he had gone to the Father’s House. Sánchez Molinari was a Redemptorist, of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer. A memorial Eucharist was set for Sunday evening. That is the church’s notice, not a police report.

Guayaquil is on the coast, about 265 kilometres south-west of Quito. Local authorities, at the time of these reports, had not explained why the object came down. Teletica: church and police are checking the mounting, to learn what happened and whether the place is safe. We have not written a structural fault. It is not in these sources.

The clip spread on social networks, then was taken down, NBC writes. We are not running it. The death is confirmed by the archdiocese. The rest is an inquiry.

This is not an attributed attack. It is not a sentence. It is an accident announced by the church, with the cause still open.

Image: Guayaquil Malecón, 7 January 2021, Arabsalam, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. Not Perpetuo Socorro church.

Sources consulted: Falling crucifix kills Ecuador priest during livestreamed church service — The Independent; Falling crucifix kills priest during Mass in Ecuador — AFP / Inquirer.