From The Daily Mail:
The hero who saved the Crown of Thorns: Fire brigade chaplain entered flaming Notre Dame to recover holy relic - three years after he bravely helped Bataclan terror victims
- Jean-Marc Fournier saved the Crown of Thorns from the blazing Notre Dame
- Paris Fire Brigade chaplain also rescued the Blessed Sacrament from cathedral
- Father Fournier described as a 'hero' for 'showing no fear' and saving the relics
- In 2015 he also rushed inside the Bataclan where Islamic State militants killed 89
A French priest who helped the wounded in the Bataclan terror attack on Paris and who survived an ambush in Afghanistan also emerged as a hero of the Notre Dame fire today.
Jean-Marc Fournier, chaplain of the Paris Fire Brigade, rushed straight for the relics housed in the cathedral to rescue the the Blessed Sacrament and the Crown of Thorns relics from the blazing building on Monday night.
...MUCH MOREIt was feared that both religious artefacts would be lost as flames engulfed the medieval building, but Father Fournier made sure they were taken to safety.Four years ago he also comforted the wounded after the worst terrorist attack on Paris this century when 89 people were massacred at the Eagles of Death Metal concert in 2015.During his time as an army chaplain, Father Fournier, survived an ambush in which 10 soldiers were killed.
Etienne Loraillere, an editor for France's KTO Catholic television network, said Father Fournier 'went with the firefighters into Notre Dame Cathedral to save the Crown of Thorns and the Blessed Sacrament'.This was confirmed by an emergency services source who 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.'...... One of the cathedral's most precious objects, the Crown of Thorns is purported to have been worn by Jesus Christ on the cross when he was crucified...
Today is Good Friday, the anniversary of that crucifixion, suspicious timing eh?.
...This is not the first time the priest has served the people of Paris during a national tragedy.And from 20 Minutes:
He went inside the Bataclan music venue in Paris on 13 November, 2015, after Islamic State terrorist murdered 89 people using guns and explosives.
The priest 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," Fournier said at the time....
Incendie à Notre-Dame de Paris: Comment l'aumônier des pompiers de Paris a sauvé les trésors de la cathédrale (Google Translate, quicker than moi):
...Father Fournier set himself two goals: first, “save the crown of thorns and the relics of passion”, then “save Jesus”, by recovering the Blessed Sacrament, that is to say, the consecrated hosts. Very soon, he realizes the difficulty of accessing the crown of thorns that, according to legend, Jesus would have worn before being crucified, and which has been preserved at Notre-Dame since 1806. A code is needed to open a chest under the reliquary. And nobody, at that moment, has this code. With a BSPP colonel, they “desperately” searched for the person who held him. “It took us a while,” he breathes.
Meanwhile, another team of firefighters managed to find a steward in possession of the precious code and put the crown of thorns in a safe place. “They got ahead of us on this matter,” smiles Father Fournier. But there are still many works of art to save. With a representative of the Ministry of Culture and a steward of the cathedral, he lists them. At the top, “a virgin with the child who is in the second chapel on the right.” We must act quickly. In the cathedral, “there was an iridescent rain of melted lead”. “It was clear where the arrow had fallen . “
This first work recovered, he decides to “structure” the intervention. Chief Warrant Officer Millet accompanying him “is a small team” that Father Fournier will advise to “avoid going out of things that had no interest”. Methodically, they inspect every corner of the monument, determine which works to save as a priority. “Parts that are too large, too heavy or inaccessible” are not part of it. Later, the situation becoming too dangerous, their mission was interrupted. “We finished our journey with a painting depicting the martyrs of Korea, and a very large one from the 16th or 17th. This is the largest room we have released. “
“I invited Jesus to take care of his own house”
The paintings are “stored in the workers’ living space, under the care of police officers”. But Father Fournier did not forget that he had set himself another mission: to leave the consecrated hosts from Our Lady, representing for the Catholics the body of Jesus Christ. They are in two places, one of which is now inaccessible. Finally, he manages to recover the others who were “in a tabernacle in the chapel of St. George”. The clergyman, alone in the cathedral, surrounded by “fumes of water, falling orange and red rains ,” will then make “a great sign of the cross.”
“I invited Jesus to take care of his own house if he did not want to end up on the edge of the Canal Saint-Martin with a tent 3 seconds to finish the night,” he jokes. At the same time, the north tower, threatened by the flames, was in danger of collapsing and thus carrying away its twin sister. But the action of firefighters , he insists, helped avert the disaster. “I want to see also the action of Christ who intervened to say that the joke was enough and that it was necessary to preserve the two towers”. The interview is coming to an end. But Father Fournier has not finished with the media yet. Outside the barracks, a hundred journalists are still waiting to meet the man who saved the treasures of Notre-Dame.....Lead covered roof melting into the cathedral?
Making jokes with Jesus: "Yo J.C. get to work on the divine intervention bit lest the next mass be in a tent"?
Yeah, this guy should be looked at, very closely.
