Man claiming to be 'Christ' kills monk at Spanish monastery

A 76-year-old monk died on Monday after being attacked by a man shouting "I am Jesus Christ" in a monastery in southeastern Spain, the religious order said, AFP reported.

Two others were injured in the rampage on Saturday morning on the Santo Espiritu del Monte monastery in the hills above Gilet, a village 30 kilometres (19 miles) north of Valencia.

The middle-aged man broke into the cloister while the monks were having their breakfast and attacked three of them with a blunt object, the Franciscan order to which the monastery belongs said in a press release.

He was driven away by Brother Angel Ramon, who immediately alerted the authorities, the statement added.

One of the wounded was admitted to hospital "in a critical condition" and succumbed to his injuries on Monday afternoon, a religious official told AFP, expressing deep "sadness".

Brother Ramon told the daily El Pais newspaper that the attacker appeared to have gone mad at the time of the assault.

"He cried out: I'm going to kill the brothers, I am Jesus Christ," the monk said.

The assailant then seized several objects including sticks and a bottle to beat the brothers, Ramon added.

In a statement, the Gilet town hall said that the assailant had been arrested after initially fleeing into the mountains surrounding the monastery.

According to Spanish media, the attacker was a 46-year-old Spaniard with psychiatric problems and a drug addiction. He is due to be brought before an examining magistrate on Tuesday.