Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Paris (Agenzia Fides) - The Catholic priest who was murdered in France yesterday August 9th by a man who was allegedly involved in the fire in Nantes Cathedral on July 18th is Father Olivier Maire, provincial superior of the Montfortan missionaries or Montfort Fathers in France.
"Father Olivier Maire was murdered by a person whom he housed and who he looked after", says a statement signed by Fr. Luiz Augusto Stefani, Superior General of the Company of Mary.
"Dear confreres, dear friends, members of the Montfortan religious family, this morning we received the sad and terrible news that Father Olivier Maire, Provincial Superior of France, was horribly murdered in the Provincial House of Saint Laurent sur Sèvre. I invite you to pray for the eternal rest of Father Olivier's soul and for his parents... May Saint Louis Marie de Montfort help us to renew our trust in Jesus Christ, incarnate, crucified and risen wisdom", reads the statement of the Superior General.
Fr. Maire was ordained a priest on June 17, 1990 and came from the diocese of Besançon, where his elderly parents still live. He worked for many years in Uganda as the person in charge of formation and then in Rome as assistant general of his order from 2005 to 2011.
"He was a biblical scholar with a passion for the Church Fathers and Patristic Greek, and also had a degree in psychology. For him, the writings of St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort, written 300 years ago, were still relevant to explain and live the faith", says a statement from the Diocese of Luçon.
"Father Olivier Maire, known for his openness and deep faith, died a victim of his generosity, a martyr of charity", says Bishop François Jacolin Luçon, "Fr. Olivier Maire leaves a testimony of Christian charity, in the footsteps of St. Louis Marie de Montfort and Christ, who taught us to serve others, especially those who are in trouble ... And one does not approach others without exposing oneself",
concludes Mgr. Jacolin. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 10/8/2021)
AFRICA/SOUTH AFRICA - Zambian missionary murdered in South Africa
"You do not go to Heaven alone." The life of self-sacrifice of witnesses to the faith, for the salvation of all