Rouen, France (Tuesday, August 16, 2016, Gaudium Press) The Archbishop of Rouen is preparing to launch the Cause of Fr Jacques Hamel and waive the rule which states that five years must pass before a Cause is opened, according to la-croix.com.

Following the murder of the Catholic priest by Islamic extremists in Northern France last month, Archbishop Dominique Lebrun announced that he is ready to initiate the canonization process having “carefully preserved evidence about Father Jacques.”

Because Fr Jacques is considered a martyr, there will be no need to wait for a miracle in order for his canonization to be approved.

Archbishop Lebrun said: “The death of Father Jacques Hamel is the ultimate testimony of his faith in Jesus, he affirmed to the end.

“The holiness of recognition procedure (…) cannot begin until five years after the death of the person. Formally, it is the bishop of the person’s place of death to initiate the procedure. There is a local phase with a careful survey of the life and death of the person. Then the case is sent to Rome where she studied before the Pope’s decision.”

Source Catholic Herald