Patricio Alfredo Sánchez Molinari, a Catholic priest, died after a large crucifix fell on him while he was leading a livestreamed Mass in Guayaquil, Ecuador. The accident happened on Saturday as he addressed his congregation, and the Archdiocese of Guayaquil said on Sunday that he had died.
The archdiocese identified Sánchez Molinari as the parish priest of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in the Central Vicariate. He was struck in the head when the crucifix came tumbling down during the service, turning a public Mass into a fatal accident witnessed in real time.
Guayaquil Mass and parish role
The priest served in Guayaquil and had previously worked in Vinces, Los Ríos Province. He was also part of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, the religious congregation founded in 1732 by St. Alphonsus Liguori and now said to include around 4,500 members serving in 82 countries on all five continents.
The congregation’s own online presence has centered on its mission and identity, and a related Psalm citation used by the Redemptorists' Baltimore Province reads, “In Him there is plentiful redemption.” For worshippers who followed his Masses online, the fatal collapse ended a service that was being shared beyond the church walls.
Archdiocese of Guayaquil statement
“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,” the Archdiocese of Guayaquil said in a Sunday social media post. It added: “Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. Amen.”
The public statement gave the clearest official account of his death after the Saturday accident, but it did not explain why the crucifix fell. No official explanation has been issued about whether structural damage or faulty fittings contributed to the collapse, leaving the mechanism of the accident unresolved while the church community absorbs the loss.
Unanswered question in Guayaquil
The death was public and immediate, but the cause of the crucifix's collapse has not been explained. That leaves the central question for Guayaquil’s worshippers and the priest’s congregation: what caused the crucifix to fall on Father Sánchez Molinari during Mass?
