The death occurred on Saturday, October 17, at the parish of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, located in the Central Vicariate of the Ecuadorian archdiocese. That same day, the curia published on its social media an obituary signed by the cardinal archbishop of Guayaquil, Luis Gerardo Cabrera Herrera, OFM.
The text released by the Archdiocese of Guayaquil reports that Father Sánchez Molinari, “who served as parish priest of the Perpetual Help church in the Central Vicariate, has gone to the Father’s House to enjoy His presence and glory.” The archdiocese joins “in prayer for the eternal rest of his soul” and expresses its solidarity, affection, and love “to the Redemptorist family, his relatives, and friends.”
The post concludes with the traditional Latin prayer for the deceased: Requiem æternam dona ei, Domine. Et lux perpetua luceat ei. Requiescat in pace. The note makes no reference to the circumstances of the death.
The accident, according to the broadcast
Details have emerged through digital media and social networks. According to El Heraldo de México, the priest was celebrating daily Mass, which was being streamed live from his own profile, when around minute 27 of the broadcast a cross embedded in the wall behind him came loose and fell on him. The same outlet also reports on its social media that screams from the faithful present in the church can be heard in the recording.
Local Guayaquil accounts on the social network X also shared what happened, and within hours the news sparked a wave of condolence messages. The archdiocese’s statement does not clarify whether the priest died instantly or after receiving medical attention, nor does it provide information about the condition or mounting of the cross.
A Redemptorist leading Perpetual Help
Father Sánchez Molinari belonged to the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, founded by Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori in 1732. The parish he led is dedicated to a Marian devotion closely linked to the Redemptorists since 1866, when Blessed Pius IX entrusted them with the custody of the original icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, venerated in the Roman church of Saint Alphonsus on Via Merulana.
In the released note, the archdiocese has not yet announced the date or place of the funeral rites.