The funeral of Father Olivier Maire, this Catholic priest killed on Monday within the congregation of the Montfort Missionaries in Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre (Vendée) near Cholet, will take place on Friday at 2:30 p.m. The ceremony, which will take place in the basilica of the town, will be celebrated “in private in the presence of the family of Father Olivier Maire, members of the Montfortian congregation and officials”, indicates the diocese of Luçon.
Sign of the enormous emotion aroused by the homicide in the region, the town hall will however install a giant screen outside, on the forecourt of the basilica, to broadcast the funeral live and allow “people who so wish. to meditate ”. The family gave their consent. She also agreed to broadcast the ceremony on KTO TV, a Catholic national television channel. The local TV channel Vendée also announces that it
will broadcast the funeral live by Olivier Maire.
The churches will ring at noon
In addition, the Bishop of Luçon asked all the parishes of Vendée that the death knell be sounded Friday at noon. “With great pain, I learned of the homicide of Father Mayor,” Pope Francis said during the general audience on Wednesday.
The sole suspect in the death of the Vendée priest is a 40-year-old Rwandan asylum seeker. This man, suffering from mental disorders, had already been indicted a year ago for the arson of the Nantes cathedral which occurred on July 18, 2020. Since his release under judicial supervision in June, he was received at the within the religious community of Montfortians. On the day of the crime, he gave himself up to the gendarmerie by confessing. While waiting to be able to be re-examined, he is treated in a psychiatric hospital.