A woman who worshipped at the church described Hamel as "a man who did his job to the end". She added: "He was elderly but was always available for whoever.
He was a good priest. He has been here for a long time and many parishioners knew him well. He was quiet, didn't like attention He assumed his duties to the end.
He was well-liked. It seems he was a simple, faithful priest, quietly serving God and his people. A woman who works at a local beauty parlour, Eulalie Garcia, echoed the tributes to the self-effacing priest.
He was very discreet and didn't like to draw attention to himself. Hamel, who had been retired for nearly a decade, had lived in northern France all his life having been born there in According to the Archdiocese of Rouen, Hamel requested after officially retiring at 75 that he remain in the parish and continue to help when necessary.
Hamel lived in the rectory at the modernised church and commune, which lies on the site of Gallo-Roman settlements dating back to AD. The town became urbanised from the mid-nineteenth century with the arrival of railway and the industrial revolution. The first steam trains run by the Western Railway Company between Paris and Rouen began service in Then in the s a major cotton factory was built, creating hundreds of jobs. Now it is a quiet town. We have never received any threats.
