[caption id="attachment_20296" align="alignright" width="167"] Pope Francis celebrates a memorial Mass for Father Jacques Hamel in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae at the Vatican Sept. 14. Father Hamel, seen in the photo on the altar, was murdered while celebrating Mass in Rouen, France, July 26; the two killers claimed allegiance to the Islamic State group. (CNS photo/L'Osservatore Romano) See POPE-MASS-HAMEL Sept. 14, 2016.[/caption]
VATICAN CITY (CNS) - To kill in the name of God is satanic, Pope Francis said at a special requiem Mass for a French priest assassinated by youths claiming allegiance to the Islamic State.
"Father Jacques Hamel had his throat slit on the cross, at the exact moment he was celebrating the sacrifice of Christ's cross. A good man, meek, brotherly and who always sought to make peace, was murdered as if he were a criminal. This is the satanic line of persecution," the pope said Sept. 14 during a morning Mass in the chapel of Domus Sanctae Marthae.
Archbishop Dominique Lebrun of Rouen and Father Hamel's sister, Roselyne Hamel, along with 80 pilgrims from the diocese joined Pope Francis for the Mass in memory of Father Hamel, who was killed July 26.
Two men stormed a church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray near Rouen while Father Hamel celebrated Mass. After taking several hostages, the attackers slit Father Hamel's throat and seriously injured another parishioner. Following a standoff, police killed the attackers, ending the hostage situation.
Celebrating the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, the pope entered the chapel dressed in a red chasuble, the color symbolizing martyrdom. He reverently bowed before the altar, where a picture of Father Hamel was placed in front of two lit candles.
Archbishop Lebrun said he had brought the photo and asked Pope Francis to sign it with a note for three religious women who had been with Father Hamel at Mass that day. The sisters care for the sick in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray and were not able to join the pilgrimage to Rome.
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