Two more bishops die from Covid-19

Two bishops - one in Bangladesh and Bolivia died from Covid-19 this week.

Archbishop Moses Costa of Chittagong, 69, secretary-general of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Bangladesh, died on 13 July at Square Hospital in Dhaka after a month- long battle with the virus. He had been hospitalised on 13 June with severe respiratory problems and tested positive for Covid-19 the next day. He seemed to improve and even tested negative for the virus on 22 June, but his condition worsened again on 8 July, and he suffered a series of strokes.

His archdiocese said Archbishop Costa's death had left, "all the faithful in a state of tremendous shock." Others mourning the loss included Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who expressed "deep shock and sorrow at the death of Archbishop Moses Costa."

A member of the Holy Cross Congregation, Archbishop Costa had served in a number of prominent roles in addition to his post with the Catholic bishops' conference. He had headed the Holy Cross Seminary and Holy Cross Scholasticate in Bangladesh and had been rector of the National Major Seminary. Pope Francis named him archbishop in 2017.

Two days later, in Bolivia, Bishop Eugenio Scarpellini of El Alto died on 15 July of Covid-19. The local Municipal Council approved a 30-day period of mourning in the city of El Alto. "With him he takes away the affection and gratitude of the Bolivian people," said the Archdiocese of La Paz. The Italian-born bishop, aged 66, was admitted to hospital after testing positive for Covid-19, but two heart attacks followed and the doctors were unable to save him. He had been in Bolivia for 32 years.

A former Secretary General of the Bolivian Episcopal Conference, he accompanied Pope Francis when he visited Bolivia in July 2015. In 2017, he attended the inauguration of the mosaic of the patron saint of Bolivia, Our Lady of Copacabana, in the Vatican gardens.

Worldwide, hundreds of priests and religious have died from the coronavirus. Two more bishops known to have lost their lives in the pandemic are Italian Bishop Angelo Moreschi who died on 25 March and retired Bishop Vincent Malone of Liverpool who died on 18 May. He was 88 years old.