Father Giuseppe Berardelli, 72, parish of St. John the Baptist in Casnigo, about 15 miles from Bergamo in northern Italy, died in hospital in Lovere, Bergamo - one of the worst-hit cities in Italy.
At least 50 priests have reportedly been killed by coronavirus in Italy.
Giuseppe Berardelli, the main priest in the town of Casnigo, died in Lovere hospital.
According to the hospital, he refused to use a respirator his parishioners had bought for him - choosing to give it to a younger patient (whom he did not know), instead.
Residents of Casnigo were reported to have applauded from their windows and balconies as the coffin was taken for burial. There was no funeral.
A longtime friend of Father Giuseppe Berardelli, Giuseppe Foresti, sacristan of Berardelli’s parish of St. John the Baptist in Casnigo, has stated that the elderly priest simply couldn’t tolerate the ventilator, in part because of preexisting health conditions, and refused to use it.