El Paso Catholic church pastor, who survived being held hostage by African rebels, dies of Covid-19

EL PASO, Texas -- An El Paso Catholic church pastor is among the city's latest victims to die from Covid-19 after battling the virus for about a week, the diocese said Wednesday.

Rev. Jose Luis Garayoa, 68, was the pastor of Little Flower parish in El Paso's Mission Valley since 2018. He died Tuesday at a community home that currently houses two other priests who are also infected with the coronavirus.

"Father Jose Luis Garayoa will never be replaced," said El Paso's Catholic Bishop Mark Seitz. "He was a powerful personality. The force of his character made the rest of the people in a room orbit around him, and they were better for having been captured by the force of his gravity!"

Garayoa, originally from Spain, was ordained into the Catholic priesthood in 1976 and served in church ministries around the globe aimed at helping the poor and less fortunate - including missionary work in the war torn African nation of Sierra Leone.

"Father Jose Luis feared nothing and no one. He was a man who had seen it all," recalled Seitz. "Once in Sierra Leone, where he had also served for many years, he had been kidnapped and held hostage. A gun had been held to his head and the trigger was pulled, but the gun malfunctioned. After that experience nothing could intimidate him!"

Seitz said Garayoa will be forever remembered as a "fervent believer and
humanitarian."