A man who was killed while defending others in the London Bridge terror attack has been put forward for a sainthood, according to reports.
Spanish man Ignacio Echeverría, 39, beat off the terrorists with a skateboard until he was stabbed to death in the attack on June 3, 2017.
Now Mr Echeverría’s family in Madrid have been given the backing of the Catholic Church to make him a saint, according to reports in Spanish media. The canonisation process can only begin five years after a person’s death.
Mr Echeverría’s mother and father are working with local church authorities in Madrid to prepare an application, the El Mundo newspaper reported.“Ignacio risked and gave his life to save other people. He had a devoted life,” his father said.
Pope Francis wrote after the attack: “The heroic offering of life, suggested and sustained by charity, expresses a true, complete and exemplary imitation of Christ and, therefore, deserves the admiration that the community of the faithful usually reserves for those who have voluntarily accepted martyrdom of blood or have heroically exercised Christian virtues.”
Mr Echeverría, a devout Catholic, moved to London in 2016 to work for HSBC. He was skateboarding with friends on the evening of the attack. When he saw the horror unfolding, he intervened, probably saving the lives of several people. He was stabbed to death by two terrorists, which killed him.
Mr Echeverría was given a posthumous George medal in 2018 for his bravery during the attack, in which eight people died and 48 were seriously injured.