Priest, parishioner among casualties in Madrid explosion Firefighters work after a deadly explosion at the parish center of the Church of Our Lady of La Paloma in downtown Madrid Jan. 20, 2021. A priest and a member of the parish were among four killed in the explosion, which was caused by a gas leak. CNS photo/Juan Medina, Reuters
Priest, parishioner among casualties in Madrid explosion By
Junno Arocho Esteves, Catholic News Service January 21, 2021
VATICAN CITY A young priest ordained only six months ago was among the casualties of an explosion at a parish center in Madrid.
The Archdiocese of Madrid confirmed Jan. 21 that Father Ruben Perez Ayala, a priest at the Church of Our Lady of La Paloma, died in the early hours of the morning due to internal hemorrhaging he suffered after the blast.
âIt was like an earthquake, I thought a bomb had gone off.â That was one witnessâs account of the explosion that ripped through a building in central Madrid at 2.56pm on Wednesday, at number 98 Toledo street â just a kilometer from the landmark square Plaza Mayor and 15 minutes on foot from the central Puerta del Sol.
The seven-story building was destroyed in the blast, leaving at least four people dead and 10 injured. According to source from the emergency services, all the evidence points to a gas boiler that exploded. The building in question was the Church of the Virgen de la Paloma parish center. It contains office space, a shelter run by the charity group Cáritas, a meeting room, a living room and three housing units for priests.