French priest who was on holiday when 85-year-old Father Jacques Hamel was murdered by ISIS speaks out
Father Moanda-Phuati said Father Hamel should have retired ten years ago but wanted serve his parish until the day he died
FATHER Jacques Hamel, an 85-year-old priest had been standing in for priest Auguste Moanda-Phuati when he was brutally murdered on Tuesday.
Father Auguste says the elderly priest had wanted to serve God until his last breath.
Visibly shaken, he said: "It would have been me. We took turns. But what shocks me more is that he could have retired and yet this is how his life ended."
Speaking to BMTV he revealed he had returned immediately from his holiday to care for his parishioners.
He also spoke about Father Hamel, describing him as a courageous, caring and hardworking man.
"He said there were not enough priests and he could still help.
"And he was very popular - a good man, a simple man without extravagance. We benefited greatly from his experience and wisdom.
"He spent most of his life in the service of the people. He was a man of peace."
A policeman cordons the site next to the body of one of the two men who stormed the church
Father Hamel had spent 58 years in the church but showed no signs of retiring, telling fellow priests "You’ve seen a retired pastor? I will work until my last breath."
His colleague Father Aime Remi Mputu Amba, pastor dean of nearby Sotteville-les-Rouen, said: "We are in the same deanery. We often met, almost every week, for lunch.
"He was very self-effacing, very discreet, very attentive. When he came into the room for our meetings between those parishes south of Rouen, he was like a ray of sunshine.
"Despite his advanced age, he was still totally invested in parish life."
Two terrorists, proclaimed as “soldiers” by ISIS, cut the throat of Father Jacques Hamel after taking worshippers including two nuns hostage during mass at a church in Normandy on Tuesday.
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