The chaplain of the Paris Fire Brigade is being lauded as a hero after rushing into the burning Notre Dame Cathedral to rescue holy relics, including a crown of thorns believed to have been worn by Jesus Christ.
Jean-Marc Fournier, who serves as the brigade’s chaplain, reportedly went straight for the ancient relics as the nearly 850-year-old structure burned around him.
“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,” a source in emergency services told the Daily Mail of Fournier’s heroism.
A French reporter snapped a photo of Fournier, with a caption describing how he saved the crown of thorns from the inferno.
[Opinion: The US should pay 17.83% of Notre Dame’s reconstruction costs]
Le père Fournier, aumônier des @PompiersParis, est allé avec des pompiers dans la cathédrale #NotreDame pour sauver la couronne d’épines et le Saint-Sacrement… pic.twitter.com/4IoLVdoJZW
— Etienne Loraillère ن (@Eloraillere) April 15, 2019
This was not Fournier’s first act of heroism. During the November 2015 attack at the Bataclan Theater where 89 people were massacred by Islamic terrorists, Fournier rushed into the building to comfort the wounded and pray over the dead.
“I gave collective absolution, as the Catholic Church authorizes me,” Fournier said around the time of the terror attack.
The fire at the Notre Dame began shortly before 7 p.m. on Monday and soon consumed the entire roof of the structure, leading to the collapse of the Paris landmark’s iconic 300-foot spire. After battling the blaze throughout the night, authorities announced Tuesday morning that the fire had been extinguished and relics like the crown of thorns and a tunic worn by St. Louis had been saved.
