Tributes have been paid to two Catholic priests who died in Ecuador while rescuing a boy from drowning.

The group was enjoying a Lenten retreat for altar boys in the coastal town of Playas when one of the boys got into difficulty in strong waves.

Sixty-year-old Fr Alfonso Avilés Pérez and Fr Pedro Anzoátegui, who was 43, managed to get the boy to safety but were unable to get themselves out of the sea.

According to the newspaper El Comercio, Fr Alfonso was swept away by the current.  Fr Pedro tried to help in the rescue, but both succumbed to the force of the water. Fr Alfonso’s body was found shortly after the accident, while Fr Pedro’s body was found on the beach the following morning.

The incident happened on 13th March and a memorial Mass was held by Bishop Gustavo Adolfo Rosales Escobar of the Diocese of San Jacinto at Santa Marianita Church three days later.

Paying tribute, Bishop Cristóbal Kudlawiec of Daule said that even in deep grief “one must trust in the Lord’s will because he does not err; his will is holy, and we, as mere humans, must always affirm this, even in moments when our soul is broken”.

Cardinal Luis Gerardo Cabrera Herrera of Guayaquil stated that “the death of a shepherd always leaves a void, but it also leaves a deep mark on the hearts of the people” adding that the priests had not calculated the risk, but “ simply reacted as a shepherd would react when he sees that one of his sheep is in danger”.

The Archdiocese of Guayaquil said that all the altar servers participating in the trip had returned safely to their homes.

Fr Alfonso had been a member of the Society of Jesus Christ the Priest and was priest of St Albert the Great Parish in the Diocese of Daule, and Fr Pedro served in the Diocese of San Jacinto.