In a talk to young people, Carlos Ortiz presented courage as a daily practice rooted in Christian faith. He urged his audience to repeat the biblical injunction not to be afraid.
After Ortiz was identified as one of the victims of the rail accident in Urda, Toledo, the Bishop of Orihuela-Alicante, José Ignacio Munilla, shared footage of the talk on social media. Munilla thanked Ortiz for his testimony and expressed condolences for his death. The video has since circulated widely online.
Ortiz urged his audience to reject fear of work or effort, and of chastity or youth. He also addressed fear of death. He argued that a person who lives with Christ need not fear dying, and connected fear of the future with uncertainty about what it may bring.
The accident occurred on 28 October 2026 in Urda and involved an AVE train and an Iryo train. Europa Press reported at least 69 deaths, while other coverage reported more than 100 people injured. Ortiz’s death was confirmed by the CEU and the Asociación Católica de Propagandistas on 31 October, after he had been listed among those missing.
Ortiz was travelling to Seville for work with Javier Tello, the CEU’s director general, to attend meetings with directors of the institution’s Andalusian centres. Tello was injured in the crash; the CEU said he was recovering favourably. Ortiz was the director of the CEU schools area and had led Colegio CEU San Pablo Sanchinarro since 2019. The school serves about 2,100 primary and secondary pupils and has 190 teachers.
RUSSPAIN has also covered a separate security story involving online jihadist calls targeting Spain. That report concerned threats against police and demonstrators, rather than the rail accident.
A graduate in Hispanic Philology, Ortiz began his career teaching at Colegio CEU San Pablo Montepríncipe. He was appointed director of studies at Colegio CEU San Pablo Sanchinarro in 2015 and took over as its director in 2019.
His work also included directing the CEU schools area and the master’s degree in secondary teacher training at Universidad CEU San Pablo. He was a member of the national board of CECE.
