A Catholic priest in Guayaquil, Ecuador, was killed Saturday after a large wooden crucifix fell from a church wall and struck him during a livestreamed Mass, according to ChurchLeaders. The Rev. Patricio Alfredo Sánchez Molinari, a Redemptorist priest (C.Ss.R.), was leading a service at Perpetuo Socorro Church when the tragedy occurred.

Video footage circulating on social media shows Father Molinari standing near the pulpit as a woman in the congregation recites a prayer. Without warning, the large wooden crucifix mounted on the wall behind the priest came crashing down, striking him in the head and knocking him to the floor.

Churchgoers screamed as several people rushed to help the fallen priest. "Father, Father...call an ambulance," a person could be heard shouting in the video, according to ChurchLeaders. Molinari died from his injuries.

The priest was praying when the cross fatally struck him, and his final recorded words were a prayer of intercession: "...of men, so that the Lord may remedy them with his mercy, let us pray to the Lord." ChurchLeaders reports his last words as the congregation rushed to his aid were, "We pray to you, hear our..."

The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Guayaquil confirmed Molinari's death in a statement released on social media.

"We announce that our dear Fr. Patricio Alfredo Sánchez Molinari, CSsR., who was serving as the parish priest of the Perpetuo Socorro Church in the Vicaria Centro, has passed away and is now at the House of the Father to enjoy His presence and His glory," the statement read.

The Redemptorists, formally the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, are a worldwide order of Catholic priests and brothers known for mission and parish work, including a significant presence across Latin America.

The incident occurred Oct. 17 and was reported by ChurchLeaders on Oct. 19. No further details about the investigation into how the crucifix became detached from the wall have been reported.