France marks decade since Father Hamel's murder at altar with call for peace and fraternity
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu leads a memorial mass and speeches in Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, joined by François Hollande and other officials, as the town reaffirms a message of peace.
Decade after the altar murder
On 26 July 2016, two 19-year-old jihadists, Adel Kermiche and Abdel-Malik Petitjean, burst into the church of Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray during morning mass. They stabbed Father Jacques Hamel, 85, multiple times at the altar, killing him, and seriously wounded parishioner Guy Coponet, 86. Three nuns and another parishioner were taken hostage. Police of the BRI unit stormed the church around 11 a.m. and shot both attackers dead. The group État islamique claimed responsibility that afternoon.
- Two jihadists enter the church during morning mass, kill Father Jacques Hamel and wound Guy Coponet
- BRI police storm the church, shoot both attackers dead
- Islamic State claims responsibility for the attack
- Commemoration mass held at the same church, speeches by Prime Minister and officials; town reaffirms peace message
Commemorations and mass
Ten years to the day, the town organised several moments of reflection. A mass at 11 a.m. inside the same church was presided over by Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, president of the French Bishops' Conference. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu then addressed the congregation. The municipality used the occasion to renew what it called "a message of peace and fraternity."
Political and religious figures gather
François Hollande, who was president at the time of the attack, attended alongside current Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez and Bernard Cazeneuve, who held that post in 2016. Former Prime Minister Édouard Philippe, also mayor of Le Havre, was invited together with all mayors of Seine-Maritime and around a hundred other local elected officials.
Resilience and a peace motto
Since the attack, Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray changed its official motto to "mieux vivre ensemble" (live better together) and developed a memorial project. A book titled "Revivre ensemble" (Living together again) collects the testimony of 13 witnesses, including Roseline Hamel, the priest's sister, and Mohamed Karabila. Mayor Joachim Moyse said:
Resilience is a long road. We cannot stay frozen.
Anne Coponet, whose parents were among the hostages, recalled: "Something brought people back together. They didn't rebel. You might have feared a flood of hate because there's a large Muslim community here. The two communities, Christian and Muslim, tried to work on something." Hubert Wulfranc, mayor in 2016, added: "The cohesion that could have unravelled was strengthened."
Last year, Father Hamel was posthumously awarded the National Medal of Recognition for Victims of Terrorism.
