Olivier Maire S.M.M. (19 November 1960 – 9 August 2021) was a French Roman Catholic priest.[1] Assassinated in Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre, he was a member of the Montfortaine Family.
Olivier Maire | |
|---|---|
| Provincial Superior of the Company of Mary in France | |
| Church | Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre |
| Diocese | Luçon |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 17 June 1990 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 19 November 1960 Besançon, France |
| Died | 9 August 2021 (aged 60) Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre, France |
| Nationality | French |
| Occupation | Roman Catholic priest |
Biography
editBorn into a very pious family, Maire became religious from a young age. He entered the Collège de Pelousey and the Lycée Saint-Jean de Besançon, where he earned his baccalauréat. After his studies in biology, he spent his military service in Haiti. He then earned a degree in theology in Rome, being ordained a priest and joining the Company of Mary. He then trained seminarians in Uganda for many years.[2]
A biblical critic, Maire was passionate about the Church Fathers and the Patristics, he also earned a degree in psychology. Upon his return to France, he was elected provincial superior of the Montfortaines and was installed in Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre.[3]
Olivier Maire was murdered on 9 August 2021, allegedly by Emmanuel Abayisenga, a Rwandan national who was suspected of having started the 2020 Nantes Cathedral fire and whom he had taken in.[4] His funeral took place on 13 August 2021, in the Basilica of Saint Louis de Montfort in Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre, celebrated by Monsignor Éric de Moulins-Beaufort, president of the Bishops' Conference of France, Monsignor François Jacolin, Bishop of Luçon, and Reverend Luis Augusto Stefani, Superior General of the Company of Mary.[5] Minister of Justice Éric Dupond-Moretti and Senator Bruno Retailleau also attended the ceremony.[6]
References
edit- ^ de Frémont, Charlotte (11 August 2021). "Père Olivier Maire: dans tout le pays, prêtres et fidèles préparent les hommages". Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 18 August 2021.
- ^ "Qui est le Père Olivier Maire, le prêtre tué en Vendée ?". Paris Match (in French). 9 August 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
- ^ Fournier, Marie-Coralie; Dorcet, Marie (9 August 2021). "Olivier Maire, le prêtre tué en Vendée, est originaire de Besançon". France Bleu (in French). Besançon. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
- ^ Laurent, Samuel; Dorison, Anne-Hélène (9 August 2021). "De l'incendie de la cathédrale de Nantes au meurtre d'un prêtre en Vendée, la dérive progressive d'Emmanuel Abayisenga". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 18 August 2021.
- ^ Boucault, Sarah (11 August 2021). "Prêtre tué en Vendée : le père Olivier Maire enterré ce vendredi". Le Figaro (in French). Nantes. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
- ^ Gruel, Mathieu (13 August 2021). "Obsèques du prêtre tué en Vendée. " Olivier va terriblement nous manquer mais nous ne jugerons pas "". Ouest-France (in French). Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre. Retrieved 18 August 2021.