Carcassonne, France, Mar 26, 2018 / 14:07 pm
Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia has penned a column for Holy Week highlighting the sacrifice of French policeman Arnaud Beltrame, comparing his death to save a stranger to the sacrifice Christ made on Good Friday.
Beltrame swapped places Friday with a female hostage when an Islamic State-inspired gunman attacked a supermarket in southern France. Beltrame was then shot in the throat by the gunman, and died from his injuries early Saturday morning.
Beltrame received his first communion and confirmation in 2010, when he was about 35 years old. He was planning on having a religious marriage on June 9th to his civilly-married wife, Marielle. Before he died, he received the anointing of the sick; but he was unable to be sacramentally married on his deathbed as he never regained consciousness.
His priest, writing for the Diocese of the French Armed Forces, wrote that he believed "only his faith can explain the madness of this sacrifice, which is today the admiration of all."