{"id":8900,"date":"2026-03-19T01:30:24","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T01:30:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/2026\/03\/19\/2-priests-saved-2-altar-boys-from-drowning-in-the-sea-but-they-died-in-the-attempt\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T01:30:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T01:30:25","slug":"2-priests-saved-2-altar-boys-from-drowning-in-the-sea-but-they-died-in-the-attempt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/2026\/03\/19\/2-priests-saved-2-altar-boys-from-drowning-in-the-sea-but-they-died-in-the-attempt\/","title":{"rendered":"2 priests saved 2 altar boys from drowning in the sea but they died in the attempt"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

Two priests died on Friday, March 13, after saving two altar servers in danger of drowning on a beach in Ecuador.<\/p>\n

The priests \u2013 Father Alfonso Aviles P\u00e9rez, member of the Society of Jesus Christ and parish priest of St. Albert the Great Parish in the Diocese of Douala, and Father Pedro Anzo\u00e1tegui, who served in the Diocese of San Jacinto \u2013 did not hesitate to rush to the rescue of the young people who were participating in a Lenten retreat for altar servers held in the coastal town of Playas, where minors Had gone out. Water.<\/p>\n

Martha de Murillo, who served as Aviles’ secretary for more than 20 years, told EWTN News’ Spanish-language sister service, ACI Prensa, that during a Mass celebrated at St. Albert the Great at 11 a.m. on March 14, the late priest community’s superior \u2013 Father Lope Pascual \u2013 described the events.<\/p>\n

“In his sermon, Lope described how it all unfolded: two altar servers were in danger of drowning, and the priest went to save them; the altar servers made it out \u2013 thank God \u2013 but, tragically, the priest could not,” he explained.<\/p>\n

According to Ecuadorian newspaper El Mercurio, all the youth who participated in the retreat are physically healthy, out of danger and have been taken home.<\/p>\n

During the Mass celebrated on March 14, Cardinal Luis Cabrera, Archbishop of Guayaquil, committed the priests to God and, clearly moved, asked the congregation to “pray for our brothers Alfonso and Pedro, whom God, in these circumstances, fills today with his grace and blessings.”<\/p>\n

A statement from St. Albert the Great Parish said Aviles “left for the Father’s House, generously dedicating himself to those entrusted to his care.”<\/p>\n

Aviles was born in 1966 in Murcia, Spain. After studying philosophy and theology, he was ordained a priest in 1990. \u201cWith more than 30 years of priesthood and nine years of service in our parish, he leaves a legacy of faith, closeness and love for the community,\u201d the parish highlighted.<\/p>\n

Prior to his arrival at St. Albert the Great Parish, he also served as parish priest at St. Therese of the Child Jesus in Entre Rios in the Guayaquil metro area, where he served the community and strengthened the faith life of many families, according to a press release from the former parish.<\/p>\n

He promoted family catechesis, eucharistic adoration and altar server building initiatives \u2013 fundamental pillars of his evangelical mission. In 2021, he received an award from the city of Samborondon for his spiritual and community contributions.<\/p>\n

One phrase he constantly repeated was: “Charge! Because the goal is heaven!”<\/p>\n

A large number of worshipers gathered at St. Albert the Great Parish \u2013 including Lavinia Valbonesi, the First Lady and wife of Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa, Annabella Az\u00edn, the president’s mother. He spent a few minutes in prayer in the church, before proceeding to his interment in the Panteone Metropolitano, where the funeral Mass was celebrated on 14 March.<\/p>\n

Carlos Polo, director of the Ibero-America office of the Pro-Life Population Research Institute, told ACI Prensa, “The most holy priest I have ever seen has passed away: Alfonso Avil\u00e9s. His sermons were brilliant. He was my friend. We met only a few times, but the spiritual bond that united us was very strong.”<\/p>\n

“Even as the years went by, every time I saw him he told me he was still praying for my son, as I had asked him when I first spoke to him. He died living his law \u2013 the law of love,” Polo said, recalling the passage from the Gospel of John (15:13): “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”<\/p>\n

A young professional who served at the altar of Aviles told ACI Prensa that the priest loved the sea. “He brought us up with restraint; he instilled in us the aspiration to be gentlemen, heroes, warriors \u2013 honest people and good sons of God. He always said that the best of us should be in the service of God, and we cannot be weak. His flame was always burning \u2013 at any time, in any conversation, no matter how brief. I am deeply saddened,” he shared.<\/p>\n

Anzo\u00e1tegui was born in 1982. He was appointed to the Guayaquil Cathedral on November 20, 2010. He served at Holy Cross Parish in the city of Duran, San Jacinto Diocese. He also served in Guayaquil.<\/p>\n

‘Jesus I Trust in You’<\/h2>\n

“Dear brothers, I trust you will understand that I will not say many words, because we are all suffering from this shock – this trauma – and it is difficult to say something in such a moment. But when our human words fall short, we must listen to God,” Crist\u00f3bal Kudlavic, Bishop of Douala, said during the Mass celebrated for the eternal peace of Aviles at St. Albert the Great Parish.<\/p>\n

“And for these occasions \u2013 so difficult, so difficult \u2013 the Lord sends us some important words; not to console us \u2013 because sometimes it is very difficult to find consolation after such a powerful blow \u2013 but to help us understand, on some small scale, what He wants to show us through these events illuminated by His words,” he continued.<\/p>\n

Addressing questions the faithful may ask themselves about the late priest’s projects or the reasons behind his death, the bishop reminded them that God “makes no mistakes, and His will is holy. And we, as mere human beings, must always affirm this \u2013 even in those moments when our souls are shattered.”<\/p>\n

The bishop emphasized that “without love of God and neighbor, life has no meaning.”<\/p>\n

“In the face of this news \u2013 so tragic, so shocking \u2013 we can only say: ‘I believe in you, Lord Jesus. I trust in you, Jesus. And I trust that what you give me as a teaching \u2013 even through some shocking events \u2013 is for my good,'” he reflected.<\/p>\n

this story was first published<\/a> By ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language affiliate of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two priests died on Friday, March 13, after saving two altar servers in danger of drowning on a beach in Ecuador. The priests \u2013 Father Alfonso Aviles P\u00e9rez, member of the Society of Jesus Christ and parish priest of St. Albert the Great Parish in the Diocese of Douala, and Father Pedro Anzo\u00e1tegui, who served<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8901,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[3727,2522,1773,3669,3728,295,3726,390],"class_list":{"0":"post-8900","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bible-news","8":"tag-altar","9":"tag-attempt","10":"tag-boys","11":"tag-died","12":"tag-drowning","13":"tag-priests","14":"tag-saved","15":"tag-sea"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8900"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8900\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8902,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8900\/revisions\/8902"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}