Fr. Rubén Pérez Ayala At least four people have now died after an explosion destroyed a parish building in the Spanish capital, Madrid, with a gas leak cited as a possible cause.
The victims included a recently ordained Catholic priest who died in hospital early Thursday morning. Fr Rubén Pérez Ayala was ordained to the priesthood last June. His first assignment was at the Virgen de la Paloma parish near the Puerta de Toledo in the centre of Madrid, where he was serving when an explosion destroyed much of the parish rectory and office at 3pm on January 20.
Cardinal Carlos Osoro Sierra, the archbishop of Madrid said that he is “grateful for his life of dedication to Christ and to his Church”. Cardinal Osoro said that he was praying for the victims of the explosion and all those affected by it.
The archdiocese identified one of the deceased as 35-year-old electrician David Santos Muñoz, a parishioner and father of four, who had come to the building “to lend a hand” with the building’s boiler.
Another victim was an 85-year-old woman, according to CNN. Two pedestrians who had been walking by the building at the time of the explosion were among the victims, according to ABC News.