The Catholic Church remembered the sixth year of the martyrdom of Father Jacques Hamel. He was murdered by the IS terrorists while celebrating Mass at his parish church in northern France, locals gathered to commemorate his life and to pray.
“We enter into prayer where Jacques fell, the victim of the madness of men,” Archbishop Dominique Lebrun of Rouen said at the suburban Rouen church of Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray.
An eyewitness said the 85-year-old priest twice told the attackers “Begone, Satan!” before they slit his throat.
Three nuns and several parishioners were present when the attack took place. One elderly parishioner was severely hurt when the attackers tried to take him hostage. The two attackers, both 19 years old, were killed by police as they exited the church.
Hamel’s death shocked France and much of the world. Pope Francis offered a Mass for the priest shortly after the attack, calling Hamel a martyr.
The latest commemorations come months after a French court convicted four people for crimes relating to the attack.
“This trial helps us to mourn, even if it is difficult to do. Because Father Jacques Hamel is more alive than ever,” Lebrun said, according to France 3 News.
The commemorations began before Mass, with the archbishop and several dozen others walking in a procession to the church, the French newspaper Le Figaro reports. Hamel’s sister, Roseline was among them, escorted by civic leaders including the local prefect, the president of the department, and Mayor of Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray Joachim Moyse.