Pope Francis will celebrate his morning Mass tomorrow in memory of Father Jacques Hamel.
In a statement released today, Director of the Holy See Press Office, Greg Burke, made the announcement, noting that the Eucharistic celebration will be filmed and broadcast live by the Vatican Television Center.
It will be a “gesture as a sign of closeness to Father Jacques Hamel and his family and the whole community of Rouen,” the communique stated, noting that 80 pilgrims of the French diocese, together with Bishop Monsignor Dominique Lebrun of Rouen, France, will attend the Mass for the 86-year-old priest killed by an Islamic terrorist, on July 26, in the church of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, where he was pastor.
Pope Francis, through Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, sent a message of condolences to Archbishop Lebrun, following the dramatic events this morning in the church of nearby Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, where two men armed with knives entered and took hostage the priest, two nuns and two faithful. They subsequently killed Fr. Hamel, by cutting his throat, and seriously wounded another hostage.
