Across the sidewalk from the church in St. Down the road a bit are shops, cafes and other businesses. The scene of the Rev. It is hard to believe that such a brutal attack could take place here. I visited just two months after his death on July 26, I bought flowers from a florist just around the corner to lay a bouquet at the church entrance.
I added my flowers to a small memorial there. The florist, trying to hold back tears, told me that Father Hamel had taught her catechism 30 years ago when she was a child. I asked the florist what kind of bouquet she would recommend. She told me that he loved roses, especially red ones—the color of the martyrs. Before his death, Father Hamel, who usually slept like a baby, was beginning to have recurring nightmares.
He would leave the little church that he served in St. The streets were deserted. Suddenly, a group of strangers would ambush him and begin to beat him. He would look around for help, but there was no one there. The year-old Father Hamel confided this nightmare to his sister months before his murder. Father Hamel often told his sister of his admiration for the Rev. Charles de Foucauld, the great martyr in the desert at Tamanrasset, Algeria.
Father de Foucauld lived among the Tuareg people and was also known for his charity, gentleness and spirituality. Is it because the devil had entered into their hearts and minds, and they became numb to all charity and compassion?
Jacques Hamel was born on Nov. His parents divorced when he was still a child, and he and his siblings grew up with their mother in great poverty. He exhibited extraordinary piety at a young age. He would assist at funerals at his local parish whenever possible.
