A Riverside County pastor’s birthday trip to visit family in Venezuela ended in tragedy when the hotel where he and his wife were staying collapsed during last week’s powerful earthquakes near Caracas. Now, his grief-stricken congregation in Riverside is racing to support the family with donations, medical help, and emergency travel plans.
Riverside Congregation Mourns a Beloved Pastor
According to CBS Los Angeles, the victim was Romildo Delima, the longtime leader of Worship Church Ministries in Riverside. He had traveled to Venezuela to visit family and celebrate his 69th birthday when the hotel partially gave way during the shaking. A wall struck him as the building collapsed.
The twin quakes, measured at magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, struck last Wednesday, according to AP News.
Miguel Gonzalez-Mateo, a friend and fellow pastor, told CBS Los Angeles, "We will miss him all the time. He's like a best friend for me." Congregants said they have been re-listening to old voicemails and swapping photos, trying to process the sudden loss of the man many considered the heart of their church.
Family Racing to Bring Him Home
One of Delima's sons told KABC/ABC7 that the family is now urgently trying to secure visas so they can travel to Venezuela and repatriate his body. The outlet reported that relatives have launched an online fundraiser to help cover mounting medical bills and steep travel costs tied to the international arrangements.
Brazilian outlets identified the pastor as Romildo Batista de Lima and said he was originally from Uberlândia. UOL reported that family members have accused Brazil's foreign ministry of responding slowly as they work to bring his body home. The same coverage notes that his wife remains hospitalized and is expected to undergo surgery for a broken leg and hip.
Local Roots and Ministry Work
Worship Church Ministries is registered in California and lists Delima as both a principal and registered agent, according to state filings compiled by BizProfile. Church members say Delima had long been a familiar presence in Riverside’s Brazilian and religious communities, known as much for his steady leadership as for his habit of checking in on congregants one by one.
Quakes Rock Region as Relief Ramps Up
The earthquakes flattened buildings across coastal states north of Caracas, with especially heavy damage reported in La Guaira. Officials say the death toll continues to climb and thousands have been injured, AP News reported.
The Pan American Health Organization said hospitals in the region were being overwhelmed and that international health teams are being mobilized to support the hardest-hit areas, according to its situation updates.
Back in Riverside, Delima’s congregants have begun organizing donation drives and coordinating closely with his relatives. KABC/ABC7 noted the GoFundMe titled "Help Bring Romildo Home and His Wife Surgeries." Neighbors and church members say they plan to hold remembrance gatherings in the coming days while the family navigates travel logistics, legal paperwork, and the long road of recovery.
