Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Ambato (Agenzia Fides) - In the Diocese of Ambato people continue to pray for Fabián Enrique Arcos Sevilla, a priest who disappeared on 30 October and was found dead with signs of torture four days later, in the province of Cotopaxi, near a landfill.
Meanwhile, investigations continues. According to the local police, the priest knew those who killed him. The motive, according to the police, was robbery. The funeral was held three days after the body was found, on 6 November, in the church of Huachi Chico, south of Ambato.
When the priest's body was found, Jorge Giovanny Pazmiño, Bishop of Ambato, expressed his “sorrow for the loss of this beloved priest in a note released by the diocese, thanking the expressions of solidarity received from various sectors of society, both inside and outside the province of Tungurahua”.
“We remain united with the family of our brother and friend, Father Fabián Arcos, especially his mother, siblings, nieces and nephews. We will continue to hold their hands to accompany them in their suffering,” added the Bishop, emphasizing the importance of the work of the police who are investigating the case: “We trust that their professionalism will allow the facts to be revealed so that justice will judge all the guilty parties. We ask that, considering the suffering of the Arcos Sevilla family and the diocese of Ambato, there be no room for speculation”.
Fabián Enrique Arcos Sevilla was born in Quito on 28 January 1971 and was ordained a priest on 18 July 1998. Since then, he has dedicated his life to pastoral service in various parishes and communities in the Diocese of Ambato. First as Cooperating Vicar in Juan Benignos Vela from 1998 to 1999, then as parish priest in Pilahuín from 1999 to 2002. From 2022 to 2003 he was Cooperating Vicar of Pilahuín and for the three-year period 2001-2003 he was also Vicar of the Indigenous Pastoral. A member of the Presbyteral Council, he was also parish priest of Huambaló from 2003 to 2004. From 2009 to 2012, he served as parish priest of San Juan Apóstol and then as parish priest of San Antonio from 2012 to 2013. Chancellor of the Diocese of Ambato from 2009 to 2013, he was also Cooperating Vicar of Izamba from 2017 until his death. He studied at the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador and then enrolled at the San José Seminary. He then studied in Italy, at the Gregorian University in Rome. (Agenzia Fides, 6/12/2024)
