Oct 15, 2019 / 03:30 am
Archbishop Dominic Jala of Shillong, India and Fr. Mathew Vellankal died in a car crash Oct. 10 during a visit to the Diocese of Oakland.
The visiting archbishop and two local priests' Toyota Prius was hit by a tractor-trailer truck on a California highway in Wilbur Springs at 2:20pm on Oct. 10, according to California Highway Patrol.
Fr. Joseph Parekkatt, pastor of St. Anne Parish, survived the crash with injuries and is in stable condition at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. Fr. Vellankal, pastor of St. Bonaventure in Concord, and Archbishop Jala, both died at the scene of the accident.
"Father Vellankal's joyous spirit and faith will be deeply missed," Bishop Michael C. Barber of Oakland said in the diocese announcement Oct. 12. "May his soul and the soul of Archbishop Jala rest in the peace of Christ."