He showed no fear ... hero priest of the Bataclan saved Crown of Thorns
A PRIEST who comforted the injured victims of the Bataclan terror attack has emerged as the hero of the Notre Dame inferno.
Jean-Marc Fournier, chaplain of the Paris Fire Brigade, risked his life to save the Crown of Thorns and the Blessed Sacrament from the cathedral on Monday night.
It was feared that the religious relics would be destroyed as flames engulfed the medieval building. But Father Fournier insisted on entering the cathedral with firefighters and ‘showed no fear at all’.
The 53-year-old is believed to have been part of a ‘ human chain’ who retrieved the centuries-old priceless artworks and artefacts. An emergency services source, who did not want to be named, said: ‘Father Fournier is an absolute hero.
‘He showed no fear at all as he made straight for the relics inside the cathedral, and made sure they were saved. He deals with life and death every day, and shows no fear.’
The relics included the Crown of Thorns which is said to have been placed on the head of Jesus before he was crucified.
Yesterday Paris’s 15th district mayor Philippe Goujon confirmed to reporters outside the landmark that the chaplain insisted on being allowed in the cathedral and played a role in the rescue. Etienne Loraillere, an editor for France’s KTO Catholic television network, added that Father Fournier ‘went with the firefighters into Notre Dame Cathedral to save the Crown of Thorns and the Blessed Sacrament’.
A photograph of Father Fournier standing outside the cathedral and surrounded by first responders was posted on social media on Monday night.
The Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo tweeted her thanks to the rescuers for forming ‘a formidable human chain’ to save the irreplaceable objects. The Crown of Thorns, the tunic of Saint Louis and several other major works are now in a safe place,’ she posted.
Father Fournier, who survived an ambush while serving with French forces in Afghanistan, was also noted for his bravery after Islamic State terrorists murdered 89 people using guns and explosives at the Bataclan theatre in November 2015.
He rushed to the venue and prayed over the dead, and comforted those who were injured or had lost loved ones. ‘I gave collective absolution, as the Catholic Church authorises me,’ he said at the time.
In an interview he gave to Christian Family magazine after that attack, Father Fournier told how he was based in Germany and in France’s western Sarthe region before joining the Paris Fire Brigade. He also served in the Diocese of the French Armed Forces and was based for a time in Afghanistan where he was involved in an ambush in which ten soldiers were killed. Father Fournier said: ‘On my first trip to Afghanistan, I was seized by fear – everything I saw could potentially be dangerous, as we had learned during training courses.’ He has previously posted online that his hobbies include bodybuilding, horse-riding and reading.