Jacques Hamel

Jacques Hamel (French pronunciation: [ʒak amɛl]; 30 November 1930 – 26 July 2016) was a French Catholic priest who served in Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray. On 26 July 2016, Hamel was murdered during the 2016 Normandy church attack by two Muslim men pledging allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant while Hamel celebrated Mass in his church.[3]

Servant of God

Jacques Hamel
Jacques Hamel at Saint-Étienne Church
ChurchSaint-Étienne-du-Rouvray
ArchdioceseArchdiocese of Rouen
Orders
Ordination30 June 1958[1]
by Joseph-Marie Martin
Personal details
Born(1930-11-30)30 November 1930
Darnétal, Seine-Maritime, France
Died26 July 2016(2016-07-26) (aged 85)
Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, France
BuriedBasilica of Notre-Dame de Bonsecours[2]
49.4215304°N 1.1229655°E / 49.4215304; 1.1229655
NationalityFrench
DenominationRoman Catholicism

The circumstances of his death have led him to be called a martyr by Christians,[4][5] including Pope Francis,[3] non-Christians,[6][7] and the press.[8] Calls to declare him a saint started soon after his death. The canonization cause was officially opened at diocesan level in April 2017,[9][10] after Pope Francis had waived the otherwise mandatory five-year waiting period for the opening of such causes.[11]

Early life

Hamel was born on 30 November 1930 in Darnétal, France.[1][12][13] At the age of six he became a choirboy in St. Paul's Church in Rouen and at 14 he entered the minor seminary.[14] He served in the military for 18 months in Algeria.[15] He did not wish to be an officer as he did not want to issue orders to other men to kill.[16]

Ministry

Hamel was ordained as a priest on 30 June 1958.[12][17] He served as an assistant priest at the St. Antoine church in Le Petit-Quevilly from 1958, an assistant priest at the Notre-Dame de Lourdes church in Sotteville-lès-Rouen from 1967, a parish priest in Saint-Pierre-lès-Elbeuf from 1975, and a parish priest in Cléon from 1988. He joined the church in Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray in 2000.[18] He officially retired in 2005 at the age of 75, but continued serving as the parish's assistant priest.[13][18]

With local imam Mohammed Karabila, the president of Normandy's regional council of Muslims, Hamel worked since early 2015 on an interfaith committee.[12][19] After Hamel's death, Karabila described him as his friend with whom he had discussed religion and as also someone who gave his life for others.[20]

Death and legacy
Main article: 2016 Normandy church attack

Hamel died when his throat was slit by two Muslim men, Adel Kermiche and Abdel Malik Petitjean, both aged nineteen, who both pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.[21][22][23][24] The attack occurred while Hamel was saying Mass in his parish in Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray on 26 July 2016.[25][26] Hamel was taken hostage along with three nuns and two parishioners and said "Satan Go" during the struggle.[3]

Commemorations and funeral

A Mass was held in his memory at Notre Dame de Paris on 27 July 2016.[27][28] It was celebrated by the archbishop of Paris, André Vingt-Trois,[28] and attended by president François Hollande, prime minister Manuel Valls and ministers Jean-Marc Ayrault, Bernard Cazeneuve, Emmanuel Macron and Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, as well as former presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, the Archbishop of Rouen, Dominique Lebrun, and the Apostolic Nuncio to France, Luigi Ventura.[27][28]

Hamel's grave at Basilique Notre-Dame de Bonsecours cemetery

The Funeral Mass was held at Rouen Cathedral on 2 August 2016, drawing a crowd of thousands which included senior clerics, the French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve and former prime minister Laurent Fabius.[29][30] Pope Francis instructed Lebrun to place images of Hamel in all the local churches.[3]

In August 2016, the Italian arm of Aid to the Church in Need announced it would cover the cost of training 1,000 new priests in countries like Nigeria, Cuba, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and India in response to Hamel's murder.[31] On August 27 of that same year, Br. Alexis Bugnolo and A. J. Baalman founded Ordo Miitaris Inc., to defend persecuted Christians in memory of Father Jacques Hamel.[32]

His legacy was also celebrated by French singer-songwriter Vianney Bureau in his song "L'homme et l'âme" which was dedicated to Père Hamel as well as victims of terror attacks throughout France.[33]

Canonization cause

On the same day of the murder, public figures like the President of Lombardy, Roberto Maroni, called on Pope Francis to "immediately proclaim him St Jacques".[6] The hashtag #santosubito ("saint now") trended on Twitter.[13]

Hamel was called a martyr by some international press shortly after his death.[3][34][35][8] On 13 August, La Croix reported that archbishop Dominique Lebrun of Rouen said he thought Hamel was a martyr, but the decision to declare him so was the pope's.[4] He added that "formally, it is the bishop of the person's place of death to initiate the procedure."[36] Anthony Fisher, the archbishop of Sydney, suggested he died in odium fidei ("in hatred of the faith"), adding, "This is a term Catholics use to describe the characteristic death of a martyr, as one who dies for his or her faith, and because of that faith."[5]

Pope Francis celebrates a special Mass for Hamel on 14 September 2016

On 14 September 2016, Pope Francis referred to Hamel as "blessed", a title used prior to canonization.[3][37] "This man accepted his martyrdom next to the martyrdom of Christ, on the altar," Pope Francis said on 14 September during a homily at a Mass held for Hamel's soul at the Vatican.[3][38] "He is a martyr and martyrs are beatified," the pope continued.[3].[38] Two weeks later Archbishop Lebrun announced in a homily that the Pope had formally waived the five-year waiting period needed before the start of a canonization process, and that he had decided to prepare it without delay.[39][40]

During Chrism Mass (on Holy Thursday, 13 April 2017), Archbishop Lebrun publicly announced the opening of the canonization cause, with all of Rouen's clergy gathered.[41][42] Archbishop Lebrun also said the Pope himself allowed a photo of Hamel to be put in a church, and called him blessed. Paul Vigouroux, vice-chancellor of the diocese of Rouen, has been appointed postulator of the Cause, in charge of the local investigation. The Archdiocese of Rouen distributed a prayer to request Hamel's intercession. The prayer makes reference to the circumstances of his murder, including his unmasking of Satan, the divisor and his death in the habits of prayer.[9][10]

Archbishop Lebrun announced on 1 February 2019 that the diocesan inquiry for the beatification process would be solemnly closed on 9 March 2019.[43]

See also

References
  1. "Abbé Jacques Hamel Prêtre auxiliaire de la paroisse Saint-Etienne de Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray" [Father Jacques Hamel assistant priest of the parish of Saint-Etienne de Etienne-du-Rouvray]. Rouen Catholique (in French). 26 July 2016. Archived from the original on 26 July 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  2. Malzac, Marie (16 August 2016). "Le 15 août, les Rouennais ont prié sur la tombe du P. Hamel" [On 15 August, the Rouennais Prayed at Fr. Hamel's Tomb]. La Croix (in French). Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  3. San Martín, Inés (14 September 2016). "Pope Calls French Priest Murdered by ISIS Loyalists a 'Martyr'". Crux. Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  4. "Pour Mgr Lebrun, le P. Jacques Hamel 'est un martyr'" [For Bishop Lebrun, Father Jacques Hamel 'Is a Martyr']. La Croix (in French). 13 August 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  5. "Fr Hamel Was Martyred 'In Odium Fidei', Says Archbishop Fisher". The Catholic Herald. 27 July 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  6. "One Person Detained in Normandy Church Attack Investigation". The Catholic Herald. 26 July 2016. Archived from the original on 28 July 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  7. "Muslim Leader: The priest beheaded by ISIS is also a victim for us". Rome Reports. 8 October 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  8. Lenesley, Eloïse (26 July 2016). "Jacques Hamel, martyr du fanatisme et des lâchetés politiques" [Jacques Hamel, Martyred by Fanaticism and Political Cowardice]. Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  9. "Ouverture du procès de béatification du père Jacques Hamel". Diocèse de Rouen. 13 April 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  10. Mora, Sergio (20 April 2017). "Official Opening of the Cause of Beatification of Father Jacques Hamel". zenit.org. Zenit. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  11. "Pope Francis green-lights opening of Fr. Jacques Hamel beatification process". Catholic News Agency. 2 October 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  12. de Coustin, Paul; Théobald, Marie (26 July 2016). "Qui était le père Jacques Hamel égorgé dans son église près de Rouen?" [Who Was This Father Jacques Hamel Who Was Murdered in His Church Near Rouen?]. Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  13. Henley, Jon (26 July 2016). "Father Jacques Hamel: 'A good priest … who did his job to the very end'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 26 July 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  14. Bouanchaud, Cécile; Geoffroy, Romain (7 August 2016). "Le père Jacques Hamel, 'un homme bon mais qui ne transigeait pas'". Le Monde (in French).
  15. Jan De Volder; Andrea Riccardi (2016). Martyr. Vie et mort du père Jacques Hamel (in French) (Éditions du Cerf ed.). Editions du Cerf. ISBN 978-2-204-11725-8.
  16. Quindroit, Anthony; Boitelle, Franck (3 August 2016). "Des milliers de fidèles hier aux obsèques du père Jacques Hamel à la cathédrale à Rouen" (in French). paris-normandie.fr. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
  17. "Communiqué de presse de l'archevêque de Rouen suite à la prise d'otages de Saint-Etienne du Rouvray" [Press Release of the Archbishop of Rouen After the Hostage-Taking of Saint-Etienne du Rouvray]. Église Catholique de Rouen (in French). 26 July 2016. Archived from the original on 26 July 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  18. Nossiter, Adam; Olivennes, Hannah (26 July 2016). "Jacques Hamel, 85, a Beloved French Priest, Killed in His Church". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 27 July 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  19. "Father Jacques Hamel: Tributes Paid to Priest Who Dedicated Life to Church". BBC News. 26 July 2016. Archived from the original on 27 July 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  20. "El imán Mohammed Karabila se siente 'horrorizado por la muerte' de su amigo el P. Jacques Hamel" [Imam Mohammed Karabila Feels 'Appalled by the Death' of His Friend Jacques P. Hamel]. InfoCatólica (in Spanish). Zenit. 16 August 2016. Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  21. Mortimer, Caroline; Osborne, Samuel (27 July 2016). "France Church Attack: Normandy Attacker Identified by Authorities As 18-Year-Old Adel Kermiche". The Independent. Archived from the original on 27 July 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  22. "French 'Priest Killer' on Probation". BBC News. 26 July 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  23. "France Church Attack: Killers 'Pledged Allegiance to IS' in Video". BBC News. 27 July 2016. Archived from the original on 27 July 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  24. Willsher, Kim. "Teenagers Who Killed French Priest Made Film Declaring Allegiance to Isis". France. The Guardian. Archived from the original on 27 July 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  25. Chazan, David (26 July 2016). "Isil Knifemen 'Shouted Daesh and Slit Priest's Throat' in Normandy After Taking Nuns Hostage in Church". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  26. Willsher, Kim; Borger, Julian (26 July 2016). "Isis Attackers Forced French Priest to Kneel Before He Was Murdered, Hostage Says". France. The Guardian. Archived from the original on 26 July 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  27. "Hollande Attends Notre Dame Mass for Fr Jacques Hamel". BBC News. 27 July 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  28. Wolf-Mandroux, Pierre (27 July 2016). "L'hommage au P. Hamel réunit politiques et religieux à Notre-Dame de Paris" [The Tribute to P. Hamel Brings Together Political and Religious at Our Lady of Paris]. La Croix (in French). Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  29. "French Priest Funeral: Jacques Hamel Mourned in Rouen". BBC News. 2 August 2016. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
  30. "Thousands Attend Funeral of Father Jacques Hamel". The Guardian. Associated Press. 2 August 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  31. "Catholic Charity to Support Seminarians Across the World After Murder of Fr Hamel". The Catholic Herald. 11 August 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  32. "Ordo Militaris Inc.: About". Ordo Militaris Inc. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  33. "Quand Vianney chante pour le Père Hamel". La Croix. 26 July 2017.
  34. Condon, Ed (27 July 2016). "There Can Be No Doubt That Fr Jacques Hamel Died a Martyr's Death". The Catholic Herald. Retrieved 27 July 2016. Jacques Hamel died a martyr's death. Of this there can be no question.
  35. Drake, Gavin (27 July 2016). "Church Leaders Respond to Martyrdom of Father Jacques Hamel". Anglican Communion News Service. Archived from the original on 28 July 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  36. "French Archbishop to Reportedly Fast Track Cause of Martyred Priest". The Catholic Herald. 15 August 2016. Archived from the original on 15 August 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  37. O'Connell, Gerard (14 September 2016). "Pope Francis Declares Assassinated French Priest a Martyr". America. Archived from the original on 15 September 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2015. 'To kill in the name of God is satanic,' Pope Francis said as he celebrated Mass in the Vatican this morning for Father Jacques Hamel, who was assassinated in his church in France on July 26 and whom today he hailed as 'a martyr' and declared him 'blessed.'
  38. O'Connell, Gerard (14 September 2016). "Pope Francis Declares Assassinated French Priest a Martyr". America Magazine. Retrieved 14 September 2016. To kill in the name of God is satanic," Pope Francis said as he celebrated Mass in the Vatican this morning for Father Jacques Hamel, who was assassinated in his church in France on July 26 and whom today he hailed as "a martyr" and declared him "blessed.
  39. "El Papa autoriza adelantar el proceso de beatificación del cura asesinado por yihadistas" (in Spanish). Rome Reports. 4 October 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  40. "Annonce de la dispense du pape François du délai des 5 ans pour l'ouverture du procès de béatification du père Jacques Hamel" (in French). Église Catholique de Rouen. 3 October 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  41. "Cause of Fr Jacques Hamel is officially opened". The Catholic Herald. 13 April 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  42. Gauthier Vaillant (13 April 2017). "Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray : le procès en béatification du Père Hamel officiellement ouvert". La Croix. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  43. "Padre Jacques Hamel: sabato 9 marzo sessione di chiusura processo beatificazione. L'annuncio dell'arcivescovo di Rouen". Zenit News Agency. 1 February 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
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