Father Sébastien Roussel, priest of the church of the Immaculate Conception in the town of Saint-Omer in the department of Pas-de-Calais (France), reported that he was able to save the Blessed Sacrament in the face of the fire that destroyed the temple in the early morning from September 1 to 2.
“The most important works (of art) have been recovered. Furthermore, the most important thing is that the Blessed Sacrament was not touched and we recovered it. “We were able to put the Lord again in another church,” said the priest in statements to the French media. BFMTV.
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Church of the Immaculate Conception ravaged by flames, Saint-Omer. Our Catholic places of worship are tirelessly destroyed in the French Republic. pic.twitter.com/PdCAhjYR77
— Montjoie Saint Denis (@SaintMontjoie) September 2, 2024
According to The Voice of the Norththe priest also specified that he is not “a superhero”, given some information that indicates that he would have entered the church on fire to rescue the Blessed Sacrament. In reality, he points out, he entered the church when the fire was partially controlled, with a helmet and special protective clothing. “I told them which works should be protected as a priority, nothing more. “I just did my duty,” he said.
According Europe 1Father Roussel commented that from anger and incomprehension we must now move “in faith to Christian forgiveness,” and “understand the person who has committed this act.” “It is necessary to move forward. “Life goes on.”
The fire of the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Saint Omer here is what was left.
After 3 centuries and 2 wars it will not have survived a fire. pic.twitter.com/FWTnBfgXJ2
— Lev🇻🇦 (@levmni) September 3, 2024
The priest assured that he hopes that the reconstruction of the church of the Immaculate Conception will begin soon, “a little like with Notre Dame”, the emblematic basilica that was greatly affected by a fire in 2019.
French media They point out that the authorities have arrested a 39-year-old man as a suspect in the fire, which has shocked local worshipers.
Jacqueline, a local parishioner, expressed her sadness to BFMTV and shared that she has done “everything in the church. I was baptized, I was confirmed, I made my First Communion and I got married there,” while another woman named Angela shared that she has experienced all of this “with great emotion.”
While local authorities continue the investigation, the Bishop of Arras, Bishop Olivier Leborgne, expressed his closeness in prayer to the local community, and noted that he will visit the church this Wednesday, September 4, to pray with the faithful and celebrate a Mass in the atrium of the church of the Immaculate Conception.
Walter Sanchez Silva
I have been a husband since 2008. My wife and I have three children here and one who went to heaven in 2023, before he was born. Since I joined ACI Prensa in 2005, I have had the opportunity to cover various events of the Catholic Church. Among them, the World Youth Days in Cologne, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro and the apostolic trips of Pope Benedict XVI to Mexico and of Pope Francis to South Korea. I have been sent to the Vatican to cover the Family synods, in 2015; of the Amazon, in 2019 and that of Synodality, in 2023. I closely follow the situation of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua, which suffers persecution from the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega, as well as current ecclesiastical events in the region.