“Go away, Satan.” These were the last words spoken seven years ago by Fr. Jacques Hamel, the French priest murdered in his church in Normandy in 2016 by two Islamist terrorists.
Roseline Hamel, Fr. Jacques Hamel’s younger sister, came to Rome to present the sixth edition of the award named after her priest brother.
The Father Jacques Hamel Journalistic Award is dedicated to interreligious dialogue and is scheduled to be presented in Lourdes in January.
On her trip to Rome after the General Audience on Wednesday, December 6, Roseline met Pope Francis.
Prior to the audience, Roseline Hamel shared her personal journey after the tragedy, recounting her meeting with the family of her brother’s killer and initiating a path of reconciliation with the mother of one of the killers.
Roseline shared, “I had to find meaning in my life. Even though I was already 76 years old, it was easier for me to let myself perish than to endure this excruciating pain. Still barely asleep after seven years.”
She continued, “And so, I searched intensely for meaning in my life. I meditated for a year, asking God questions. Holding Him accountable, instead of saying my prayers, I demanded explanations. Why him? Why us? What have we done? What haven’t we done?”
One question was most profound. Roseline explained, “On this journey of asking questions to which I had no answers, one question came to me: ‘Who else can suffer more than me?’ And I couldn’t imagine, except for those who have suffered as victims in this horrifying tragedy.”
An answer came, “So, I thought, what if I were the mother, and the roles were reversed? I have two sons, and what if one of them took the wrong path and became such a horrible murderer? What would be my pain? So, I thought of the mother of the murderer, and since she lives in Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, not far from where my brother used to live, I did everything to meet her and ask her to accept that we manage our pain together rather than despising each other.”
The case for Fr. Jacques Hamel’s beatification is underway. The diocesan phase of the process was closed in 2019, and Rome has been studying the case since.
Adapted by Jacob Stein.
