Courtney McGrailFr Jacques Hamel, the elderly French priest murdered in his church in July by Islamic fundamentalists, is to be fast-tracked to sainthood, it has been confirmed.
Last weekend, as the church of Saint-Etienne-du- Rouvray was reopened during a Mass to purify the site of the murder of the 85-year-old cleric, Archbishop Dominique Lebrun of Rouen made a very special announcement to a delighted congregation.
“Pope Francis has waived the five-year delay before a sainthood process can begin,” he said.
The move means that Fr Hamel joins St Teresa of Kolkata and St John Paul II whose causes proceeded before the requisite time period of waiting.
Gesture
Archbishop Lebrun added during his address to the congregation on October 2 that as a result of the “exceptional gesture” from Rome, the Diocese of Rouen began its investigation the life and witness of Fr Hamel that day in preparation for any future beatification process.
A process leading to the eventual beatification and canonisation of Fr Hamel was anticipated after Pope Francis repeatedly referred to the deceased priest as “a martyr” numerous times during a September 14 Mass in his memory.
At the same gathering, when Archbishop Lebrun sought the Pope’s signature on a photograph of the priest, he was surprised when instructed by the Pontiff to display the picture in the church of Saint-Etienne-du- Rouvray as the priest was, in the Pope’s words, “blessed”.
Meanwhile, for the first time since the July 26 murder, one survivor of the attack has spoken of the moment Fr Hamel was struck down by Adel Kermiche and Abdel-Malik Petitjean before the altar.
Guy Coponet, who was forced by the attackers to film the murder and was later stabbed in the neck, said Fr Hamel did not condemn his assailants, but in his final words – “Satan, get out of here, get out, Satan” – was fending off the evil that had taken hold of the two young men.