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By Farnoush Amiri
A man has been arrested after a priest in Montreal was stabbed on Friday during a livestreamed morning mass in Canada’s largest church.
Father Claude Grou, the rector of the Saint Joseph’s Oratory, was taken to the hospital and is said to be stable condition, according to the Archdiocese of Montreal.
Authorities responded to call around 8:40 a.m. and witnesses said a man went toward the priest with a sharp object.
The attack was captured on a livestream and television broadcast by the Catholic channel Salt + Light, which publishes the streams shortly after the mass. Authorities have not disclosed whether the footage will be released.
When police arrived the suspect was already detained by church security and the priest was lightly injured on his upper body, Montreal police spokesperson Caroline Chèvrefils said.
The suspect was then taken into custody, transported to a detention center and will be interviewed by investigators later today, she said.
Valérie Plante, mayor of Montreal, responded to the incident in tweet, “What a horrible and inexcusable gesture that has no place in Montreal.” She added she’s relieved to hear Father Claude Grou was recovering.
Grou was not “afraid for his life,” tweeted Jasmin Lemieux-Lefebvre, director of communications for the Catholic Church of Quebec.
Saint Joseph’s is in Montreal’s Mount Royal district and is Canada’s biggest church after it was officially opened in 1956. It is said to be one of the country’s most popular tourist spots, with 2 million visitors per year.