For Parishioners in French Town, Slain Priest Was Model of Dedication
Rev. Jacques Hamel, 85 years old, filled in for parish priest at Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, France
By
INTI LANDAURO and
WILLIAM HOROBIN
4 COMMENTS
SAINT-ETIENNE-DU-ROUVRAY, France—-Whenever the parish priest of this French town went on vacation, the Rev. Jacques Hamel would answer the call to fill in.
That meant 85-year-old Father Hamel was inside St. Etienne church, celebrating Mass, when two knife-wielding men entered, taking him hostage along with three nuns and two parishioners. Moments later, Father Hamel was forced to kneel near the altar, where attackers conducted “a sort of sermon” in Arabic before slitting his throat, said one of the nuns.
As the parish’s auxiliary priest, filling in was Father Hamel’s mission. He celebrated Mass, weddings and other ceremonies whenever the parish priest couldn’t. Father Hamel’s murder leaves the town struggling to cope with the loss of a religious leader known for his closeness to parishioners and his ability to find the right words to cheer them up. To some, Father Hamel’s final Mass is being held up as a model of faith and dedication in the face of violence.
“The only weapons the Catholic Church can take up are prayer and fraternity among men,” said Dominique Lebrun, the Archbishop of Rouen, who oversees the parish of St. Etienne.
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Police in France have shot dead two attackers who took hostages in a church near the city of Rouen. Mark Kelly reports. Image: AFP
Even though he was well beyond retirement age, Father Hamel was as active as any other priest, said Sebastiano Velardita, the parish’s 84-year-old sacristan.
“With my wife, Maria, we always told him to calm down and do less, but he would say he had vowed obedience and would serve until the end,” Mr. Velardita said. Father Hamel was also a bon vivant, he said, adding: “He liked good wine.”
Father Hamel was born just 7 miles to the north of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray. He became a priest at 28 and spent his life serving at churches in the region.
Abbot Alexandre Joly from a nearby parish remembers Father Hamel’s personal touch when they prepared weddings and funerals together. The notion that terror could arrive on their doorstep was just sinking in.
“This is senseless,” Abbot Joly told French TV. “There’s no particular threat here.”
Elodie Boucher, 22, who lives in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, remembers Father Hamel marrying her sister and baptizing her nephew.
“You could tell he was a nice man,” she said.
Despite his advanced age, Father Hamel continued teaching catechism to local children.
“He was serious about the Bible, but he was also very nice with all of us,” said Henria Bayouki, 19, who attended catechism lessons as a child and a teenager.
She remembers how four years ago local people celebrated his birthday with an exhibit of photos from Father Hamel’s youth, both of the priest and his family.
“He knew what to tell people to make them feel good,” said Francisco Peixoto, a 64-year-old retiree. “People liked him a lot.”
In June, Father Hamel wrote in the online parish newsletter about looking forward to the summer after a chilly spring in the region. He told parishioners to fill up on joy over the break and take care of those who might feel alone.
“At these times we should dig deep inside ourselves to hear God’s invitation to take care of this world, to make it, where we live in it, a warmer, more human, more fraternal world,” Father Hamel wrote.
Father Hamel was planning to take some vacation time himself, further north, near the Belgian border, Mr. Velardita said.