In a shocking event that opened up a new frontier of religious violence in Europe, Fr Jacques Hamel, an elderly 85-year-old French priest, was brutally murdered by two Islamic terrorists while saying Mass.
Next Wednesday (26 July), at exactly the same time Fr Hamel was assassinated, Mass will be said in the Church of Sant-Étienne-du-Rouvray, in Normandy.
The 9am liturgy will be celebrated by the Archbishop of Rouen, Dominique Lebrun, in front of a packed church and television cameras.
The Mass will be filmed live by a local French television station and a Catholic station and afterwards a steel monument will be officially unveiled by the local authority of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray.
Just over two metres in diameter, the tribute includes quotes from the 1948 universal Declaration of Human Rights.
This monument to Fr Hamel shows his death was not simply an attack on a priest, but on the values of western society. The unveiling will also be a moment to bring church and state together in a country where the two are normally strictly separated.
In Rome, the French priest is on the fast track to being venerated as a martyr. His breviary is currently on display for pilgrims in the Church of Saint Bartholomew on Tiber Island and in a chapel designated for “new martyrs of Europe.” The church, which is under the care of the Catholic peace and humanitarian group Sant’Egidio, is renowned for honouring those killed for their faith. Fr Hamel’s prayer book lies open on 25 July, the eve of his death, and is alongside the relics of Spanish priests killed during the Civil War, and the stole and cross of Don Pino Puglisi, a priest from Palermo, in Sicily, killed in 1993 by the Mafia. This chapel has fast become the most visited part of the church.
The beatification process for Fr Hamel has also started in the Archdiocese of Rouen with Pope Francis waiving the traditional five year waiting period before a cause can get underway. In May, Archbishop Lebrun set up the formal process for the murdered priest to be officially declared a martyr, and will hear from witnesses of the assassination, family members and some of Fr Hamel’s Muslim friends.
The Mass next Wednesday is due to have some symbolic moments and will be an attempt to bring healing. During the liturgy, four floral compositions including a flower from the priest’s garden will be placed in various locations in the Church, including in front of the statue of Mary, which had been desecrated during the attack.
The priest’s murder, which took place as young Catholics gathered for World Youth Day in Poland, sent shockwaves through the Church. But the response of the French bishops and the Pope was to diffuse tension, call for peace and continue dialogue with the Islamic world. While Francis described the attack on Fr Hamel as “Satanic” he’s consistently sought to de-link Islam from IS-inspired violence.
At the priest’s funeral Mass last August, the reconciliation message was underlined by Archbishop Lebrun who stressed the need for forgiveness. Fr Hamel’s murder, he explained, calls everyone “to look deep into our hearts to find the light.”
A priest for 58 years, Fr Hamel worked closely with Muslims in his local area and had continued in active ministry priest despite officially retiring in 2005. His entire adult life had been spent as a priest apart from 18 months as a soldier in Algeria. During this period he refused the chance to become an officer because he did not want to issue orders commanding men to kill.
Additional reporting and image ©Isabella Haberstock de Carvalho
PICTURE: Fr Hamel's breviary is currently on display for pilgrims in the Church of Saint Bartholomew on Tiber Island in a chapel designated for “new martyrs of Europe.” The priest's prayer book lies open on 25 July, the eve of his death.
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