Mexico: Cardinal confirms death of priest who had been missing for 3 days

The Archbishop of Guadalajara, Jalisco (Mexico), Cardinal Francisco Robles Ortega, confirmed Sunday night through social networks the death of the Mexican priest Isaías Ramírez González, who had been missing for three days.

“Today, with sadness, we received the news that his lifeless body was found. While waiting for the corresponding authorities to tell us the causes of his death, we ask God for his eternal rest,” the cardinal reported.

Hours before the tragic outcome was known, in a press conference held at the end of the Sunday noon Mass, Cardinal Robles Ortega reported that the priest was last seen when he left his house to go to his sister’s residence. However, he never arrived at his destination, and his truck was later found in the municipality of Zapotlanejo, just over 30 kilometers east of Guadalajara.

“Certainly, the father is undergoing treatment, he is a sick father who belongs to the Archdiocese of Tuxtla Gutiérrez (in the Mexican state of Chiapas, in the south of the country) and, by permission from his bishop, he is here to treat a heart theme He already had three heart attacks and also psychological problems,” said the cardinal.

“For that reason, his bishop gave him permission to be here in Guadalajara and also to care for his sick mother,” he added.

The cardinal also revealed that, according to the testimony of the priest’s sister, who accompanied the priest to the doctor days before his disappearance, the behavior of Father Ramírez González was “completely normal, he did not show any signs of loss or things like that.” .

At 6:49 pm (local time) on Sunday, the Jalisco State Prosecutor’s Office reported on social networks of the discovery of a body that “may correspond to the priest Isaías Ramírez González” under a bridge on the limits of the towns of Zapotlanejo and Tonalá, on the Guadalajara-Zapotlanejo highway, near where his vehicle was found.

In the video, Civil Protection elements are seen descending to the place where the priest’s alleged body is located. However, it was reported that the necessary opinions to confirm the identity are in process.

They say goodbye to Father Ramírez González

Although the identity of the body has not yet been officially confirmed by civil authorities, both the Archdiocese of Tuxtla Gutiérrez, the Archdiocese of Guadalajara, and the parishes where the priest served, have mourned the death of Father Isaías Ramírez González in their social networks.

According to what the Archbishop of Guadalajara said in his press conference, Father Ramírez González celebrated Mass regularly in three churches in the capital of Jalisco and helped in two others, especially in the temple of the Josephine religious, San José de los Poetas.

On their social networks, the Josephite temple, which had previously alerted the community About the disappearance of the priest, he published: “We want to inform you that our dear Father. “Isaías Ramírez has been found, but unfortunately, he has gone to the Father’s house.”

The parish of the Lord of Mercy in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, where the priest served before moving to Jalisco, also sent its condolences to the family of Father Ramírez González, asking for his eternal rest and comfort for his loved ones.