Father Jorge Ortiz-Garay did not want his parishioners to be afraid.

The world all around us is in crisis, he said as he celebrated Mass at St. Brigid’s Church in Brooklyn on March 19, the pews empty and his flock watching at home via live stream. But perhaps the coronavirus, and the fear it has brought, can be seen as an opportunity to become closer to God.

“There’s no better time than this time of trials, this time of challenges, to fulfill our call to holiness,” said Father Jorge, as he was known. “At these moments of trial and crisis, at these times when maybe we are asking what will happen to us, trust in the Father.”

He assured his parishioners that he was in good health.

But eight days later Father Jorge died at Wyckoff Hospital Medical Center in Brooklyn. He was 49.