Jacques Hamel

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Jacques Hamel (born  November 30, 1930 in Darnétal , †  July 26, 2016 in Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray ) was a French Catholic priest. He was murdered by two Islamic State assassins in the attack in Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray while he was celebrating Holy Mass in the Church of Saint-Étienne (Saint Stephen) .

Act

Hamel was ordained a priest on June 30, 1958 and in the following years worked in various parishes in the Archdiocese of Rouen . From 2005 until his murder, he was a subsidiary in Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, where he had been pastor since 2000.

Appreciation and commemoration

Jacques Hamel's grave

In this city, the interreligious dialogue had a high priority, explained Imam Mohamed Karabila. The Catholic Church had given the Muslims the land on which they then built their mosque. Karabila, chairman of the regional council of Muslims, knew Hamel from regular meetings of religious representatives. He told Figaro that he experienced him as a "man of peace, of religion, a charismatic man" . The death of his friend stunned Karabila: “I can't understand it. We pray for the family and the Catholic community. ”Similarly, the daily newspaper The Malta Independent wrote on August 3, 2016:“ We are trying to follow the example not only of Pope Francis, but also that of Father Jacques Hamel, who taught Muslims in helped his parish build their mosque before he was murdered by two ISIS supporters. "

On August 2, 2016, a memorial service for Hamel took place in the cathedral of Rouen in front of more than 2000 people and in the presence of high ecclesiastical dignitaries of various religions and the French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve .

Archbishop Dominique Lebrun von Rouen is collecting material for a possible beatification of the priest who was killed by Islamists.

Pope Francis celebrated Holy Mass in Santa Marta on September 14, 2016 with the relatives of Jacques Hamel.

On Wednesday, September 14, 2016, Pope Francis celebrated a mass for Jacques Hamel in his residence in Santa Marta in the presence of family members and the Archbishop of Rouen Dominique Lebrun. The Pope called on all religions to distance themselves from this kind of violence: "How much I wish that all religious denominations would clearly state: To kill in the name of God is satanic!" Francis drew the bow from the first sacrifice on the cross, that of Jesus, through the martyrs of the early Church to the martyrs of today. The story of the murders out of hatred of faith repeats itself constantly and is currently even more bloody than in the days of the old church. “Today Christians are killed, tortured, imprisoned, their throats cut because they do not deny Jesus Christ. This brings us to our Père Jacques in the context of this story: he belongs to this chain of martyrs. Christians today suffer in prison, torture, or murder because they do not deny Jesus Christ, and that really gives us a sense of the cruelty of this persecution. "

Image by Jacques Hamel in the Church of St. Etienne

After the Mass, the Pope spoke to the Archbishop and suggested that he be worshiped as a blessed: “You can hang up a picture of Father Hamel in the church. Because he's blessed now. And if someone tells you that you are not allowed to do this, answer them that the Pope personally gave you permission. "

beatification

On October 2, 2016, Pope Francis approved the initiation of beatification. The Congregation for the Causes of the Saints has been informed that Pope Francis has lifted the normal waiting period of five years and authorizes the official investigation that marks the start of the process. The martyrdom of the priest Hamel is the decisive condition for the beatification .

The beatification process for Jacques Hamel was officially opened on April 13, 2017, according to a message from the Archbishop of Rouen. In a first phase, documents and certificates were collected at the diocesan level.

This investigation process has been completed since the beginning of March 2019. The documents were forwarded to Rome. There the Congregation for Canonization prepares a report for the Pope, who is ultimately responsible for the decision on the beatification.

literature

  • Jan De Volder: Martyrdom of a priest. Life and Death of Jacques Hamel . 3rd edition, Echter Verlag, Würzburg 2018, ISBN 978-3-429-04368-1

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ A priest to the last breath .
  2. ↑ Maltese must overcome hatred of Islam
  3. ^ Funeral service for a murdered priest ( memento from August 2, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), Deutschlandfunk , August 2, 2016, accessed on August 2, 2016
  4. ↑ Archbishop: Slain priest could be beatified
  5. ↑ Pope celebrates mass with the family of the murdered priest Hamel. Archived from the original on September 22, 2016 ; accessed on September 14, 2016 .
  6. ↑ Francis honors murdered priests as martyrs. Archived from the original on October 19, 2016 ; accessed on September 14, 2016 .
  7. ↑ Pope allows priest Hamel, who was murdered by Islamists, to be worshiped. Archived from the original on September 22, 2016 ; accessed on September 14, 2016 .
  8. ^ France: Beatification process for murdered priests . ( France: Beatification process for murdered priests ( Memento of May 17, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) [accessed April 17, 2017]).
  9. ↑ Beatification process for priest Hamel completed in Rouen | DOMRADIO.DE. Retrieved March 14, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Hamel, Jacques
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of Rouen
DATE OF BIRTH November 30, 1930
PLACE OF BIRTH Darnétal
DATE OF DEATH July 26, 2016
Place of death Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray