The Catholic Diocese of Enugu has announced the death of a Catholic priest Reverend Father Joachim Cabanyes who died due to coronavirus-related complications on Thursday, July 16.
Father Joachim Cabanyes is of Spanish origin and belongs to the Opus Dei arm of the Catholic Church. Father Cabanyes has been in the Catholic Diocese for over 20 years before his passing due to coronavirus disease.
Opus Dei, formally known as The Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei, is an institution of the Catholic Church that teaches the path to personal Christian perfection through ordinary life.
Father Cabanyes died at the COVID-19 isolation centre of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) after testing positive to coronavirus.
He was initially recovering from the disease but suffered a major relapse and died.
Father Joachim Cabanyes has since been buried according to the NCDC’s stipulated safety guidelines about burying coronavirus patients.
Opus Dei Canada has confirmed the incident, writing on their official Twitter handle:
“Fr. Joachim Cabanyes of Opus Dei died to COVID in Enugu, Nigeria. He was from Madrid. On Wed he was rushed to isolation center as he needed oxygen. He was anointed. On Thurs he seemed better but all of a sudden at 9:00 am things changed dramatically & by 10: 15 am, he had died.”
