Father Patricio Alfredo Sánchez Molinari, 53 years old, was celebrating Mass on Saturday October 17 at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Guayaquil, Ecuador. The Mass was being livestreamed.

About 27 minutes into the Mass, the large wooden crucifix behind the altar suddenly detached from the wall and fell forward onto him. He was struck on the head. You can hear people screaming in the video “Father, Father… call an ambulance” and rushing to help him. The Archdiocese of Guayaquil confirmed his death on Sunday. He was a parish priest and a member of the Redemptorists – the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer
What makes it even more touching is his last sermon. Just minutes before the cross fell, he was preaching about death. He told his people:
_”One day, all of us here will also die, and sometimes the time we’ve spent on things doesn’t have as much meaning as the time we spend with God. The quality time we give to God, to our brothers and sisters, to our husbands, wives, children and family – that time is the best spent.”_
The Archdiocese had just congratulated him the day before for his ordination anniversary.
My brothers and sisters, life is really unpredictable. A man of God died right on the altar, doing the work of God, under the very cross he preached about. Father Patricio did not die in an accident on the road or in his house, he died serving God during Mass.
His last message is for all of us. We worry too much about money, about work, about things that will not follow us. But the time we give to God and to our family, that is the time that really counts. None of us knows the hour or the day. Let us love more, forgive more, and give time to God while we still have breath.