Jacques Hamel
Jacques Hamel | |
|---|---|
| Church | Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray |
| Archdiocese | Archdiocese of Rouen |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 30 June 1958 by Joseph-Marie Martin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 30 November 1930 |
| Died | 26 July 2016 (aged 85) Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, France |
| Buried | Basilica of Notre-Dame de Bonsecours 49°25′18″N 1°07′23″E / 49.4215304°N 1.1229655°E |
| Nationality | French |
| Denomination | Roman Catholicism |
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.
The circumstances of his death have led him to be called a martyr by Christians, including Pope Francis, non-Christians, and the press. Calls to declare him a saint started soon after his death. The canonization cause was officially opened at diocesan level in April 2017, after Pope Francis had waived the otherwise mandatory five-year waiting period for the opening of such causes.