- The Washington Times - Friday, March 22, 2019

A Catholic priest at St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal was rushed to the hospital Friday morning after he was stabbed during a live-streamed Mass.

Father Claude Grou is lucky to be alive after being chased down and stabbed as he was preparing to read the gospel. The rector was wounded in the chest before 60 parishioners and a live-stream audience, but luckily his attacker’s knife broke during the ambush.

“What a horrible attack at Saint Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal this morning,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted afterward. “Father Claude Grou, Canadians are thinking of you and wishing you a swift recovery.”

Christian Lépine, Archbishop of Montreal, released a statement on his state of shock over “this act of violence that has taken place in our city, in a space dedicated to peace.”

Police took a 26-year-old man into custody after the attack, CBC reported Friday.

The suspect’s name was not released and he is expected to be charged Saturday at the earliest.

“[The attacker] walked past the barrier leading into the sanctuary near the altar, and everyone was just initially wondering what was going on, and some people were starting to react a little bit,” witness Philip Barrett told CBC. “He walked directly behind the altar and seemed to strike the priest.”

• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.

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