Rwandan Who Set Fire to French Cathedral Indicted for Priest Murder

Priest holding a bible
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Chris Tomlinson

Over a year after his arrest for the murder of a French priest, Rwandan migrant Emmanuel Abayisenga has been indicted by a French prosecutor.

The prosecutor of the Republic of La Roche sur Yon announced the indictment of Emmanuel Abayisenga on Friday for murdering French priest Father Olivier Maire, who was beaten to death in August of last year.

“In accordance with the requisitions of the prosecutor’s office, he was placed in pre-trial detention after a contradictory debate before the judge of freedoms and detention,” the prosecutor said, French newspaper Le Progrès reports.

The announcement of the indictment has taken over a year due to Abayisenga being placed into psychiatric care following his arrest in August of last year when he turned himself in to local authorities and was described as mentally unstable.

The alleged murder of Father Maire came just over a year after Abayisenga was arrested for an arson attack on the Cathedral of St Peter and St Paul in Nantes that caused extensive damage.

The fire destroyed the grand organ and several stained-glass windows of the cathedral, which began construction in 1434 and only finished in 1891.

Last August’s killing was met with shock across France and was also commented upon by Pope Francis, who stated he felt “great sorrow” after learning of the death of Father Maire.

“I extend my condolences to the Montfortian religious community in Saint Laurent-sur-Sèvre, in Vendée, to his family and to all the Catholics of France,” Pope Francis said. “I assure you of my sympathy and my spiritual closeness. To all, my blessing.”

It was also revealed that Mr Abayisenga had actually met the Roman Pontiff in 2016 when the Rwandan made a visit to the Vatican, with a picture of his meeting with Pope Francis published in French media.

Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com.

 

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