Family of Priest Killed by Falling Cross Demand Inquiry as Church Allegedly Rehangs the Same Cross Two Days Later

Relatives of a Catholic priest killed by a falling cross in Guayaquil, Ecuador, are demanding an inquiry into his death. Father Patricio Sánchez Molinari was leading the service on Saturday, 17 October, when the wooden cross detached from the wall behind him. Parishioners rushed to help and called an ambulance.

Social media posts this week said the same cross had gone back up. Guayaquil's Extra newspaper says the footage seems to show a different church. The Archdiocese of Guayaquil has not confirmed that claim. Specialists say prosecutors could ask whether anyone was at fault, and no report has been released yet.

What His Family Wants Investigated

Patricio León, a relative of the priest, spoke to the media in Cuenca, Sánchez's home city, where the family held his wake. 'It may be God's will, but there should be an investigation in Guayaquil,' he said. León questioned the coincidence of the crucifix falling on the priest's head in the middle of Mass. In a first assessment, National Police called it an accidental death from a heavy blow.

Specialists who spoke to El Comercio said the prosecutor's office should decide whether the death counts as culpable homicide. That term means a death caused by someone's negligence, and because the livestream recorded the moment, prosecutors could open a case without a formal complaint. Investigators would need to inspect the fixings that held the cross and check how it was installed. They would also examine what was meant to keep it stable.

The Claim That the Cross Went Back Up

Mexican broadcaster TV Azteca reported that workers had put the cross back on the wall behind the altar. One of its sites dated this to Monday 19 October, two days after the Mass. Other outlets said under 72 hours. The reports carried a short video that circulated widely on social media, including X. Extra says it shows priests and other church members fixing a cross to the wall behind an altar.

Comparing the clip with the church where Sánchez died, the paper found clear differences. In the clip, the wall is white, the Last Supper panel is copper-toned, and the cross looks smaller than the one that fell. Sánchez's church, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, has a colourful mural behind its altar showing the Crucifixion and the Ascension. The paper added that it could not tell for certain where someone filmed the clip.

Who He Was and a Similar Death in Italy

Sánchez belonged to the Redemptorists, a Catholic missionary order, and ran Our Lady of Perpetual Help in south-central Guayaquil. He had earlier led a parish in Vinces. Cardinal Luis Cabrera Herrera, the Archbishop of Guayaquil, confirmed his death, saying the priest 'has gone to the house of the Father.'

The family held his wake at Santa Ana cemetery in Cuenca on Tuesday 20 October, before his burial at 3pm. The archdiocese says its technical department helps parishes maintain their buildings. In 2014, a 30-metre (98.4-foot) crucifix honouring Pope John Paul II collapsed in Cevo, Italy, killing Marco Gusmini, 21.