Jacques Fesch

Jacques Fesch (April 6, 1930, Saint-Germain-en-Laye – October 1, 1957, La Santé Prison, Paris) was the murderer of a French police officer, who became such a devout Roman Catholic while in prison awaiting execution that he has been proposed for canonization as a saint.

Early life

Fesch's father was a wealthy banker of Belgian origin, an artist and atheist, distant from his son and unfaithful to his wife, whom he ultimately divorced. Jacques was an idler; brought up a Roman Catholic, he abandoned religion by the age of 17. At 21, he married his pregnant girlfriend Pierrette in a civil ceremony. He gave up a position at his father's bank, lived the life of a playboy, left his wife and their daughter, and fathered an illegitimate son with another woman. Disillusioned with his life, he dreamed of escaping to sail around the South Pacific Ocean, but his parents refused to pay for a boat.

The Crime

On 24 February 1954, to fund the purchase of a boat, he went to rob Alexandre Sylberstein, a money changer, of gold coins. Sylberstein was struck but not unconscious, and raised the alarm. Fesch fled, losing his glasses, and shot wildly at Jean Vergne, a pursuing police officer, killing him. Minutes later he was arrested. Murdering a police officer was a heinous crime and public opinion, inflamed by newspaper reports, was strongly in favour of his execution. The Cour d'assises of Paris condemned him to death on 6 April 1957.

Religious conversion

At first Fesch was indifferent to his plight and mocked his lawyer's Catholic faith. However, after a year in prison, he experienced a profound mystical conversion, became very pious, and bitterly regretted his crime. He corresponded regularly with his family, notably his brother and stepmother, and kept a spiritual journal. He accepted his punishment serenely and was reconciled to his wife the night before his execution. His last journal entry was "In five hours, I will see Jesus!". An appeal for clemency to President René Coty failed, and he was guillotined.

Legacy

After his death his wife and daughter honoured his memory as an example of redemption. At first he was excoriated by the public, but Soeur Véronique, a Carmelite nun, effected publication of his writings, and from the 1970s these served as an inspiration to many.

On September 21, 1987, the Archbishop of Paris, Jean-Marie Cardinal Lustiger, opened a diocesan inquiry into his life; the cause for his beatification was formally opened in 1993. This has proved controversial, with those who feel his early crimes make him unfitting as a role model opposed to those who emphasize the hope of his final conversion.

Bibliography

*
*

References

* republished on Catholic Education Resource Center
* by Fr. Oliviero Bruno, Catholic Chaplain in Poggioreale Jail in Naples
* Other information from the article Jacques Fesch on the French Wikipedia, based on [http://fr.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jacques_Fesch&oldid=15164897 revision #15164897] fr icon