• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Catholic Review

Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Menu
  • Home
  • News
        • Local News
        • World News
        • Vatican News
        • Obituaries
        • Featured Video
        • En Español
        • Sports News
        • Official Clergy Assignments
        • Schools News
  • Commentary
        • Contributors
          • Question Corner
          • George Weigel
          • Elizabeth Scalia
          • Michael R. Heinlein
          • Effie Caldarola
          • Guest Commentary
        • CR Columnists
          • Archbishop William E. Lori
          • Rita Buettner
          • Christopher Gunty
          • George Matysek Jr.
          • Mark Viviano
          • Father Joseph Breighner
          • Father Collin Poston
          • Robyn Barberry
          • Hanael Bianchi
          • Amen Columns
  • Entertainment
        • Events
        • Movie & Television Reviews
        • Arts & Culture
        • Books
        • Recipes
  • About Us
        • Contact Us
        • Our History
        • Meet Our Staff
        • Photos to own
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • CR Media platforms
        • Electronic Edition
  • Advertising
  • Shop
        • Purchase Photos
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • Magazine Subscriptions
        • Archdiocesan Directory
  • CR Radio
        • CR Radio
        • Protagonistas de Fe
  • News Tips
  • Subscribe
Rescue workers and others walk outside Santa Cruz Church in Madero, Mexico, after the roof collapsed Oct. 1, 2023, during a Mass and baptismal service. At lease 10 people died and another 60 people were injured in the collapse, with 23 remaining hospitalized. (OSV News photo/Secretaria de Seguridad Publica Tamaulipas via Reuters)

Roof collapse at Mexican church kills 10 during baptism celebration

October 2, 2023
By David Agren
OSV News
Filed Under: Feature, News, World News

Share
Share on Facebook
Share
Share this
Pin
Pin this
Share
Share on LinkedIn

MEXICO CITY (OSV News) — A roof collapsed during Mass in a Mexican church, claiming at least 10 lives as Catholic leaders offered prayers for the dead and injured, and Mexican society expressed sorrow over the tragedy.

The roof of the Santa Cruz Church in Ciudad Madero, some 300 miles south of the Texas border city of Brownsville, collapsed during a baptismal service at around 2:18 p.m. local time Oct. 1.

At least 60 people were injured in the collapse, with 23 remaining hospitalized, according to the Tamaulipas state government, which attributed the collapse to presumed “structural failure.”

Rescue team members are pictured near Santa Cruz Church in Madero, Mexico, after the roof collapsed Oct. 1, 2023, during a Mass and baptismal service. (OSV News photo/El Citadino via Reuters)

A video captured from a nearby closed-circuit camera and shared on social media showed the church roof caving in on a sunny afternoon as the church walls buckled.

Onlookers and civil protection officials rushed to the scene. Members of a navy team expert in pulling people from collapsed buildings — often after earthquakes and working with sniffer dogs — had been flown in from Mexico City. Press photos from the inside showed the parts of the roof resting on pews, offering possible spaces for protection.

“I ask for your prayers, I also ask that we can be united in one heart, in the face of this tragedy,” Bishop José Armando Álvarez Cano of Tampico, the local diocese, said in a short video statement.

“In this time of pain and mourning, we raise our prayers to the Almighty to shower his comfort and peace on the affected souls and their families,” the Mexican bishops’ conference said in a statement.

“The church is a community of faith, love and mutual support, and in these difficult times, we come together as one body to express our solidarity with all those who have suffered in this tragedy. We ask the Lord to grant the strength to endure this difficult path of mourning and healing,” the bishops said.

Images of the frantic rescue unfolding at the collapsed parish provoked outpourings of emotion and support from across Mexico. People pitched in to remove rubble and provide refreshments to rescuers and donated needed supplies for the rescue efforts and victims, according to social media photos. Heavy equipment was brought in to lift large pieces of rubble.

Among those injured were a 4-month-old baby, three 5-year-olds and two 9-year-olds, according to the diocese. Police officers said three of the dead were children.

“From underneath the rubble, thanks to divine providence and the work of the rescue teams, people have been pulled out alive!” the diocese wrote in a statement posted on social media accounts. “Let’s keep praying!” they asked.

Father Ángel Vargas, pastor of the Santa Cruz Parish, estimated at least 80 people were in the church at the time of the collapse, including children, according to local media outlet 4C Noticias. The Tamaulipas state police said a 100 people may have been participating in the baptismal service at the time of the collapse, The Guardian reported.

“There was a person behind me, and he didn’t make it out,” Father Vargas said of his own escape.

“Those who left rest in peace and those of us who stayed will surely suffer all our lives. … I hope that all those who have been hospitalized recover soon and that we families strengthen our faith,” Father Vargas said.

Read More World News

Can’t afford a Catholic college? Think again. Many offer full tuition options

Detroit archbishop fires theologians Ralph Martin, Eduardo Echeverría from seminary

LA archbishop, joined by business leaders, starts fund to help families affected by ICE raids

FBI surveilled SSPX priest amid probe of suspected neo-Nazi’s plans for violence

Poland’s ‘living memorial’ to St. John Paul II marks 25 years of transforming lives

Catholic ‘American Ninja Warrior’ fights world hunger, one obstacle at a time

Copyright © 2023 OSV News

Print Print

Share
Share on Facebook
Share
Share this
Pin
Pin this
Share
Share on LinkedIn

Primary Sidebar

David Agren

Click here to view all posts from this author

For the latest news delivered twice a week via email or text message, sign up to receive our free enewsletter.

| MOST POPULAR |

  • Prince of Peace merges with St. Francis de Sales in Harford County

  • Detroit archbishop fires theologians Ralph Martin, Eduardo Echeverría from seminary

  • Construction underway on new north addition to St. Joseph’s Nursing Home 

  • Archdiocese of Baltimore offers resources for parishes to assist migrants

  • Archbishop Wenski leads Knights on Bikes to pray rosary at Alligator Alcatraz

| Latest Local News |

Archdiocese of Baltimore offers resources for parishes to assist migrants

Third annual gun buyback scheduled for Aug. 9

Driver arrested after crashing into entrance of Esperanza Center

Construction underway on new north addition to St. Joseph’s Nursing Home 

Prince of Peace merges with St. Francis de Sales in Harford County

| Latest World News |

Can’t afford a Catholic college? Think again. Many offer full tuition options

Detroit archbishop fires theologians Ralph Martin, Eduardo Echeverría from seminary

LA archbishop, joined by business leaders, starts fund to help families affected by ICE raids

FBI surveilled SSPX priest amid probe of suspected neo-Nazi’s plans for violence

Poland’s ‘living memorial’ to St. John Paul II marks 25 years of transforming lives

| Catholic Review Radio |

CatholicReview · Catholic Review Radio

Footer

Our Vision

Real Life. Real Faith. 

Catholic Review Media communicates the Gospel and its impact on people’s lives in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and beyond.

Our Mission

Catholic Review Media provides intergenerational communications that inform, teach, inspire and engage Catholics and all of good will in the mission of Christ through diverse forms of media.

Contact

Catholic Review
320 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
443-524-3150
mail@CatholicReview.org

 

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent

  • Can’t afford a Catholic college? Think again. Many offer full tuition options
  • Detroit archbishop fires theologians Ralph Martin, Eduardo Echeverría from seminary
  • LA archbishop, joined by business leaders, starts fund to help families affected by ICE raids
  • FBI surveilled SSPX priest amid probe of suspected neo-Nazi’s plans for violence
  • Poland’s ‘living memorial’ to St. John Paul II marks 25 years of transforming lives
  • Our faith is not afraid of questions
  • Catholic ‘American Ninja Warrior’ fights world hunger, one obstacle at a time
  • Parishes need to launch ‘revolution of care’ for the elderly, pope says
  • Broglio: Church teaching obligates the faithful to support pastoral care of migrants

Search

Membership

Catholic Media Assocation

Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association

The Associated Church Press

© 2025 CATHOLIC REVIEW MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

en Englishes Spanish
en en