The Hero Who Saved the Crown of Thorns

A French priest who helped the wounded in the Bataclan terror attack on Paris and who survived an ambush in Afghanistan also emerged as a hero of the Notre Dame fire today.

Jean-Marc Fournier, chaplain of the Paris Fire Brigade, rushed straight for the relics housed in the cathedral to rescue the Blessed Sacrament and the Crown of Thorns relics from the blazing building on Monday night.

It was feared that both religious artefacts would be lost as flames engulfed the medieval building, but Father Fournier made sure they were taken to safety.

Four years ago he also comforted the wounded after the worst terrorist attack on Paris this century when 89 people were massacred at the Eagles of Death Metal concert in 2015.

During his time as an army chaplain, Father Fournier, survived an ambush in which 10 soldiers were killed.   Notre-Dame de Paris: T... Charles River Editors Best Price: $7.38 Buy New $6.99 (as of 06:35 UTC - Details)

Etienne Loraillere, an editor for France‘s KTO Catholic television network, said Father Fournier ‘went with the firefighters into Notre Dame Cathedral to save the Crown of Thorns and the Blessed Sacrament’.

This was confirmed by an emergency services source who said: ‘Father Fournier is an absolute hero.

‘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.’

The blaze erupted in the medieval UNESCO world heritage landmark in the French capital on Monday, sending its spire and roof crashing to the ground as flames and clouds of smoke billowed into the sky.

One of the cathedral’s most precious objects, the Crown of Thorns is purported to have been worn by Jesus Christ on the cross when he was crucified.

Records of its existence begin in the sixth century AD, when it is believed to have been kept in Jerusalem by Christians.

During the Crusades in 1238, the Latin Emperor of Constantinople gave it to King Louis IX to win his support and try and preserve his crumbling empire.

Although the crown itself was saved from the fire last night, a small fragment of the  it had been kept in the spire and is therefore believed to have burned to ashes.

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