The archdiocese of Rouen in northern France held a special Mass on Wednesday to mark the first anniversary of the martyrdom of an elderly parish priest, Fr Jacques Hamel.

The 85-year-old was martyred while celebrating Mass on July 26th last year after two gunmen stormed his church in the town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray.

Catholics in France are remembering the life and legacy of Fr. Hamel, whose throat was slit by the attackers, later identified as Islamist militants. The assailants, who also took parishioners hostage, were shot dead by police.

At the exact time that the attack took place one year ago, the Archbishop of Rouen Dominique Lebrun celebrated Mass at the Church of Saint Etienne-du-Rouvray. The service was followed by a public commemoration and the unveiling of a memorial stone, with French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Edouard Philippe among those paying tribute to the slain priest.

President Emmanuel Macron spoke at the unveiling of a “stone for peace and fraternity” in honor of Father Jacques Hamel on the anniversary of his martyrdom.
He said: “By killing Father Hamel at the foot of the altar, the two terrorists sought to sow a thirst for revenge and retaliation among Catholics in France,” said Macron. “But they failed.”

Macron thanked French Catholics for “finding in their faith and prayer the strength to forgive,” and thanked the town’s residents for “setting the same example for the whole of France, for rejecting the thirst for revenge and retaliation, and for choosing together, from the very beginning, to walk the path of peace.”

Stating that France is not a “kingdom of relativism,” Macron added:
At the heart of our laws and rules, there is something non-negotiable forged by our history, something we do not compromise on, something sacred: this something is what makes us human, it is love, hope, the gift of self, our care for the other. Father Hamel has embodied all of this.

Indelible spiritual heritage

In an interview with Vatican Radio’s Olivier Bonnel, Archbishop Lebrun said that Fr. Hamel, whose beatification process is already under way, has left an indelible spiritual heritage for the whole Church and beyond.

The archbishop said that paradoxically, since his martyrdom, Fr. Jacques Hamel has seemed more alive than ever before. He said while there is still a strong sense of grief and mourning, the priest’s death has also brought together people of very different political opinions.

Transformation of hearts

Archbishop Lebrun said the first fruit of the wound left by Fr. Hamel’s death is peace between people, whose hearts are transformed as they perceive that they are united on the same spiritual journey.

On the Sunday following the attack last year, Muslims in many French towns and cities attended Mass to pray and show their support for the grieving family and community of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray.

Muslims move to root out radicalism

Archbishop Lebrun said Muslim leaders in France and the vast majority of believers declared: ‘this terrorism, this is not Islam’. At the same time they can see that the terrorists are using Islam for their own ends and therefore the attack has marked a turning point in the decisions taken by the Muslim communities to stand up and work harder to root out radicalism.