A 91-year-old US man named Bill Pike, who died due to coronavirus, received last rites by the pastor over the phone as his family was still in quarantine.
A final goodbye over the phone
Pike received last rites from the pastor and final goodbyes from relatives by phone from his bed at Norwalk Hospital on Wednesday as he died to the virus, said the sources.
According to the reports, the nurse held the phone to Bill Pike’s ear as his pastor Reverend Peter Walsh from New Canaan delivered last rites, which he described as “the most beautiful litany of prayer.”
The pastor then “told him I loved him” and hung up so his family could say their goodbyes. Following, Cathie Pike, Bill’s wife, said, “It was a like a tapestry or quilt of our affections for him.”
Pike was one of two New Canaan, US, residents to die from COVID-19 within 24 hours. Another victim, an unidentified man in his 80s, died Thursday, marking the third coronavirus fatality in the state, the outlet reports.
Surprisingly, Bill Pike passed away about 10 minutes later after listening to the last rites.
Happened the first time
According to the Pastor, it was the first time he ever delivered last rites over the smartphone. “I have done many creative pastoral things, but that was a first,” said Walsh, of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in New Canaan.
The pastor added that “while the effects of the virus are so devastating, there is something incredibly beautiful coming from this pandemic”.
