Jacques Fesch

Jacques Fesch (April 6, 1930 – October 1, 1957) was a French convicted criminal who murdered a French police officer in 1954. He later became such a devout Catholic while in prison awaiting execution that he has since been proposed for as a candidate for sainthood.

Early life
Fesch's father was a wealthy banker of Belgian origin, an artist and atheist who was distant from his son. Jacques was a young aimless dreamer. Brought up a Catholic, he abandoned religion by the age of 17, after his parents divorced. He was expelled from school for laziness and misconduct. 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.

Crime
On 24 February 1954, to fund the purchase of a boat, he went to rob Alexandre Silberstein, a money changer, of gold coins. Silberstein 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 whom he nicknamed : "the panther of God". However, after a year in prison, he experienced a profound religious 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 October 1, 1957.

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 with the work of Soeur Véronique, a Carmelite nun, and Father Augustin-Michel Lemonnier, the family effected publication of his writings, and from the 1970s these served as an inspiration to many.

On September 21, 1987 the Archbishop of Paris, Cardinal Jean-Marie 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.

His writings have often been quoted in Catholic publications. His personal journal and letters to his mother and brother are often about mystical or theological matters.

Theatrical plays about Fesch
The story of Jacques Fesch remains relatively unknown in France. However, inspired by the true events of this "murderer turned Christian," the students of Ss Cyril and Method High School in Nitra, Slovakia, under the direction of Maria Marthe Galová, wrote and performed a theatrical play, "Spomeň si na mňa" (Remember Me), which is based on the life and conversion of Jacques.The play premiered on March 11, 2018, in the Andrej Bagar Theatre, Nitra.

Books about Fesch

 * (In Spanish): El reflejo de lo oscuro. By Javier Sicilia, FCE, Mexico, 1997, ISBN 978-968-16-5112-1
 * (In French) Gilbert Collard «Assasaint : Jacques Fesch, l'histoire du bon larron moderne » (Editions Presses de la Renaissance)

Association

 * Association "Les Amis de Jacques Fesch". Website in French : https://web.archive.org/web/20130113034221/http://amisdejacquesfesch.fr/

General references

 * republished on Catholic Education Resource Center
 * by Fr. Oliviero Bruno, Catholic Chaplain in Poggioreale Jail in Naples