CORONAVIRUS

Church Mission President Dies After Heart Attack, Battle With COVID-19

Jul 13, 2021, 12:40 PM | Updated: 12:56 pm

President José Maria Batalla, president of the Bolivia Cochabamba Mission of The Church of Jesus C...

President José Maria Batalla, president of the Bolivia Cochabamba Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, died Tuesday following a heart attack and battle with COVID-19. (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)

(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)

SALT LAKE CITY — A mission president serving for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Bolivia died Tuesday following a heart attack and nearly two-month battle with COVID-19.

Church officials said José Maria Batalla was serving as president of the Bolivia Cochabamba Mission at the time of his death. He was 60 years old.

“We express our love and condolences to President Batalla’s family, along with the missionaries he led in the Bolivia Cochabamba Mission,” Church officials said. “We pray that all will feel the Savior’s love as they honor and remember this faithful leader and his devotion to the Church.”

Batalla’s wife, Valeria, was at his side when he passed away at a rehabilitation hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The couple had been serving in Bolivia since July 2020 and are from the Nordelta, Argentina, area, which is north of the capital city of Buenos Aires.

Batalla previously served as an Area Seventy, stake president and bishop. He is survived by his wife, two daughters and two sons.

President José Batalla and his wife, Sister Valeria Batalla. (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)

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Church Mission President Dies After Heart Attack, Battle With COVID-19