Slain French priest’s last words: ‘Go away, Satan’
August 03, 2016
A funeral Mass for Father Jacques Hamel was celebrated in Rouen Cathedral on August 2. An estimated 3,500-4,000 people were in attendance.
Two 19-year-old Islamists killed the 85-year-old priest as he was celebrating Mass at the Church of Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray on July 26.
In his homily at the funeral Mass, Archbishop Dominque Lebrun spoke of the priest’s last words.
The prelate said, “After you were struck by the knife, you tried to push away your assailants with your feet and said, 'Go away, Satan.' You repeated it, 'Go away, Satan.'"
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Further information:
- Obsèques du Père Jacques Hamel – documents, témoignages (Archdiocese of Rouen)
- Funeral Mass for slain French priest: attackers were 'Satan' (AP)
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Posted by: brownjudith2930 -
Aug. 04, 2016 12:46 PM ET USA
My guess is that Fr. Hamel used the classic: "Begone Satan"!" - but the power of that rebuke has been lost in translation....
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Posted by: jeremiahjj -
Aug. 03, 2016 5:59 PM ET USA
I pray that these were his last words. What a way to die, thumbing his nose at Satan throughout the ordeal! Surely he bypassed purgatory and went straight to heaven. May God forgive his killers. They could not have known that God is on his throne and he -- not ISIS nor Islam -- will rule the world at the end of the age.
