Rwandan refugee kills Catholic priest in France

 

 

   A Rwandan refugee allegedly murdered a Roman Catholic priest in France today while on bail and awaiting trial for setting fire to Nantes Cathedral.

   Emmanuel Abayisenga, 40, is said to have made a full confession after killing 60-year-old Father Olivier Maire in Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre on Monday morning. The horrific crime immediately provoked outrage across France, with one politician saying ‘an illegal immigrant’ can ‘set fire to a Cathedral, not be expelled and then re-offend by murdering a priest’. 

   Father Olivier had welcomed Abayisenga – a devout Catholic – into his community of missionaries in May when he was released from prison. ‘He was recently placed under judicial control, and went to live in Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre,’ said an investigating source. ‘He is said to have carried out the killing on Monday morning, before handing himself into police.

    ‘Early evidence suggests he beat his victim to death,’ the source added. Abayisenga was living with the Montfortian community, which is made up of missionaries devoted to Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort. Following today’s attack, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin tweeted: ‘All my support for the Catholics of our country after the dramatic murder of a priest in the Vendée region.’

  It was while working as a parish volunteer in Nantes in 2020 that Abayisenga, who arrived in France in 2012, set fire to the medieval Cathedral, causing millions of pounds worth of damage. The worst damage to Saint Peter and Saint Paul’s, which took 400 years to complete, was the ‘complete destruction of the Organ, which dated back to 1621.

   Stained glass in part of the building also popped out because of the heat of the blaze. Abayisenga was still awaiting trial for the Nantes Cathedral arson, but was bailed from prison in May. Conditions including surrendering his passport, and remaining in France, but he was otherwise free to travel. Father Olivier, the head of the Montfortian community, had agreed to take Abayisenga in, giving him food and lodging.

   It was Marine Le Pen, the leader of France’s Far-Right National Rally, who reacted most furiously to the killing, saying: ‘You can be an illegal migrant, set fire to a Cathedral, not be expelled and then re-offend by murdering a priest’.