The youngest son of Saddleback Church pastor Rick Warren, Matthew, committed suicide as detailed in a letter sent by Rick to the members of the church, which is located in Lake Forest, California.
“At 27 years of age, Matthew was an incredibly kind, gentle and compassionate young man whose sweet spirit was encouragement and comfort to many,” Warren said in the letter. “Unfortunately, he also suffered from mental illness resulting in deep depression and suicidal thoughts.”
The pastor said that Matthew killed himself on Friday. He was the youngest of three children born to Rick and wife Kay.
“No words can express the anguished grief we feel right now,” Warren wrote. “He had a brilliant intellect and a gift for sensing who was most in pain or most uncomfortable in a room. He’d then make a bee-line to that person to engage and encourage them.”
“In spite of America’s best doctors, meds, counselors, and prayers for healing, the torture of mental illness never subsided. Today, after a fun evening together with Kay and me, in a momentary wave of despair at his home, he took his life.”
Rick mentioned his son’s fight of the “relentless pain” and he and his wife “marveled at his courage.”
“I’ll never forget how, many years ago, after another approach had failed to give relief, Matthew said, ‘Dad, I know I’m going to heaven. Why can’t I just die and end this pain?’ but he kept going for another decade.”