Technically this is not a “Sudden Death” story, and probably not even an “(Almost) Sudden Death” story…

Cardinal Francis George,the archbishop of Chicago, was hospitalized with a slight hip fracture after he apparently slipped on some holy water that splashed on the floor while he was blessing Easter baskets. The archbishop landed squarely on his buttocks and grimaced in pain. But he pressed on with the service and was applauded by the congregants after he was helped back to the altar.

“He took a fall… in his exuberance with the holy water,” said archdiocese spokeswoman Colleen Dolan.
–From a story in the L.A. Times, 4/8/07