The coffin of Father Hamel is carried outside the Rouen cathedral, Normandy, before his funeral mass, Tuesday, Aug.2, 2016. Father Jacques Hamel, 85, was killed by two Islamic extremists last week in his church as he celebrated morning Mass. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
The Associated Press
ROUEN, France (AP) - The archbishop of Rouen, leading Tuesday's solemn funeral Mass for an elderly priest slain a week ago by two extremists, said the Rev. Jacques Hamel tried to push away his attackers with his feet, saying "go away, Satan," remarks that underscored the horror of the murder at the altar that touched a chord throughout France.
Hundreds of priests and bishops filled the sumptuous Rouen cathedral along with many hundreds more people, including Muslims who have joined in the grieving since the murder of the 85-year-old priest, slashed by his attackers while celebrating morning Mass.
Hamel's grisly murder sent shockwaves that went beyond his humble work as a small-town parish priest, touching other faiths and all of France. It came less than two weeks after 84 people were killed in an attack by a hurtling truck in Nice on a crowd of Bastille Day revelers.
"Evil is a mystery. It reaches heights of horror that take us out of the human," Archbishop Dominique Lebrun said during the two-hour Mass.
"Isn't that what you wanted to say, Jacques, with your last words, when you fell to the ground? After you were struck by the knife, you tried to push away your assailants with your feet and said, 'Go away, Satan.' You repeated it, 'Go away, Satan.'"
With those words, Lebrun said, "You expressed ... your faith in the goodness of humans and that the devil put his claws in."
Roselyne Hamel, the priest's sister, told the crowd: "Let's learn to live together, let's be workers for peace."
Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, also in charge of faiths, was among those attending the Mass in the cathedral, which dates from the 12th century. Hundreds of people watched the ceremony on a big screen outside, under constant rain.
Lebrun, celebrating the Mass, extended thanks to Catholics attending the service but also to "believers of other religious faiths, in particular the Jewish community and the Muslim community, very affected and already decided to unite for: 'Never again.'"
Lebrun invited people to return to churches on Aug. 15, the day celebrating the Assumption of Mary, to express that "violence will not take over in their hearts."
On Sunday, dozens of Muslims in France and Italy attended Catholic Masses as a gesture of interfaith solidarity following the attack on the priest.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, in which the priest, two nuns and an elderly couple were held hostage before the assailants slashed the priest's throat and seriously wounded the other man. Another nun at the Mass slipped away and raised the alarm, and police shot to death both attackers as they left the church.
Tuesday's ceremony was organized under tight security, and the burial was private.
Meanwhile, several cities and towns across the country have decided to cancel traditional August fireworks shows and other outdoor summer events, citing security reasons. After Nice, Avignon and smaller French towns cancelled their fireworks displays and authorities in Marseilles called off an air show by the renowned Patrouille de France scheduled for next week, an event that draws crowds of more than 100,000 people every year.
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Corbet and Masha Macpherson contributed from Paris.
Religious officials sit during the funeral mass for Father Jacques Hamel at the Rouen cathedral, Normandy, Tuesday, Aug.2, 2016. Father Jacques Hamel was killed by two Islamic extremists last week in the nearby town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. (Charly Triballeau, Pool via AP)
The Associated Press
The coffin of Father Hamel is carried outside the Rouen cathedral, Normandy, before his funeral mass, Tuesday, Aug.2, 2016. Father Jacques Hamel, 85, was killed by two Islamic extremists last week in his church as he celebrated morning Mass. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
The Associated Press
A police officer watches people waiting outside the Rouen cathedral, Normandy, before the funeral mass for the priest that has been killed by two Islamic extremists last week in the nearby town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, Tuesday, Aug.2, 2016. Father Jacques Hamel, 85, was killed in his church as he celebrated morning Mass. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
The Associated Press
Police officers watch a man leaving the Rouen cathedral, Normandy, before the funeral mass for the priest that has been killed by two Islamic extremists last week in the nearby town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, Tuesday, Aug.2, 2016. Father Jacques Hamel, 85, was killed in his church as he celebrated morning Mass. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
The Associated Press
People watch on giant screens the funeral mass for Father Hamel, outside the Rouen cathedral, Normandy, Tuesday, Aug.2, 2016. Father Jacques Hamel, 85, was killed by two Islamic extremists last week in his church as he celebrated morning Mass. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
The Associated Press
Pallbearers carry the coffin of Father Jacques Hamel at the Rouen cathedral, Normandy, Tuesday, Aug.2, 2016. Father Jacques Hamel was killed by two Islamic extremists last week in the nearby town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. (Charly Triballeau, Pool via AP)
The Associated Press
The crowd gather outside the Rouen cathedral, Normandy, during the funeral mass for Father Hamel, Tuesday, Aug.2, 2016. Father Jacques Hamel, 85, was killed by two Islamic extremists last week in his church as he celebrated morning Mass. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
The Associated Press
A man holds a religious leaflet showing the priest Jacques Hamel during his funeral mass, outside the Rouen cathedral, Normandy, Tuesday, Aug.2, 2016. Father Jacques Hamel, 85, was killed by two Islamic extremists last week in his church as he celebrated morning Mass. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
The Associated Press
From the left, French Junior minister for Local Authorities Estelle Grelier, French President of the Constitutional Council Laurent Fabius and French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve stand during the funeral mass for Father Jacques Hamel at the Rouen cathedral, Normandy, Tuesday, Aug.2, 2016. Father Jacques Hamel was killed by two Islamic extremists last week in the nearby town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. (Charly Triballeau, Pool via AP)
The Associated Press
People attend the funeral mass for Father Jacques Hamel at the Rouen cathedral, Normandy, Tuesday, Aug.2, 2016. Father Jacques Hamel was killed by two Islamic extremists last week in the nearby town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. (Charly Triballeau, Pool via AP)
The Associated Press
A photo of Father Jacques Hamel is on display during his funeral mass at the Rouen cathedral, Normandy, Tuesday, Aug.2, 2016. Father Jacques Hamel was killed by two Islamic extremists last week in the nearby town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. (Charly Triballeau, Pool via AP)
The Associated Press
People watch on giant screens the funeral mass for Father Hamel, outside the Rouen cathedral, Normandy, Tuesday, Aug.2, 2016. Father Jacques Hamel, 85, was killed by two Islamic extremists last week in his church as he celebrated morning Mass. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
The Associated Press