Jacques Hamel was a retired Priest from the Normandy Region of France. He was born in Darnétal, Seine-Maritime department of France in 1930 and became ordained as a Priest in 1958. He was a Priest for 50 years until he retired in 2008.

Death

On July 26th, 2016, Hamel was murdered during The Saint-Etienne-du Rouvray Terrorist Attack. Men affiliated with the soldiers Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) stormed into the Church and took him, two nuns, and two parishioners hostage. Hamel died when the terrorists slit his throat.

Reaction to Death

Many consider that Hamel died a martyr.

He has been described by people who knew him as a good man who put others before himself.

Pope Francis released the statement denouncing the murder as a "barbaric...senseless killing" especially since it happened in a Church.