France marked 10 years since the coordinated terrorist attacks that left more than 130 people dead across Paris—including 90 at the Bataclan concert hall. On 13 November 2015, Islamic State militants struck the heart of the City of Lights with shootings, bombings, and terror that shocked the world.
Masses were held across the city with church bells ringing in memory of the victims.
“Ten years ago, our city was brutally plunged into mourning by the deaths of 130 innocent people,” Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris said in a November 13 statement posted on X [formerly Twitter].
“For many of us,” he said, the memory of 13 November 2015, “remains, even today, that of a long night of anguish; of our shock at the most gratuitous and senseless violence; of our shock at the sheer intensity of evil.”
Apart from the lives were lost at the Bataclan, dozens more across cafés and by the national stadium. On a Friday night, Paris faced horror as nine Islamic State group militants carried out a series of coordinated attacks. Two survivors who later died by suicide are now counted among the victims.
For many of us [the memory of 13 November 2015] remains, even today, that of a long night of anguish; of our shock at the most gratuitous and senseless violence; of our shock at the sheer intensity of evil
Archbishop Laurent Ulrich
French president, Emmanuel Macron, government and city officials, took part in commemoration ceremonies, with Parisians paying their tributes to victims and their families.
Archbishop Ulrich said that on the evening of the November 13, the bells of all the churches in Paris would ring, “inviting us to unite in this same prayer” that united France in 2015.
“Masses and vigils are being held in several parishes,” across the French capital, the archbishop said. “Those of you who wish to do so may express your communion and prayer by lighting a candle in your window.”
After nightfall, the Eiffel Tower was in the colours of the French flag, The Associated Press reported.
“Ten years later, the emotion is still intact” and hope must be shared “despite the pain and the absence,” Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, said at one of the events commemorating the dark day AP reported.
“Our faith also compels us not to forget how, amidst that darkness, glimmers of fraternity, love, mutual support, and hope shone brightly that night: how many hands were extended, how much care was given, how many doors opened to offer safe haven, how many prayers were offered,” Archbishop Ulrich said.
We Christians believe that on that night, God was truly present, in the eagerness of the healthcare workers, in the selflessness of the police, in the spontaneous outpouring of humanity from so many Parisians
Archbishop Ulrich
“Yes, we believe that, faced with the abyss into which violence had resolved to plunge us, these simple and courageous acts of compassion and kindness were the strongest of defenses,” he said of the atmosphere in France in the wake of the attacks.
“We Christians believe that on that night, God was truly present, in the eagerness of the healthcare workers, in the selflessness of the police, in the spontaneous outpouring of humanity from so many Parisians,” Archbishop Ulrich said.
“Ten years later, we continue tirelessly to include in our prayers to the Lord those who left this life on 13 November 2015, as well as their loved ones, those who survived that night and who remain wounded, and scarred in body, mind, and soul, to the point that life itself has become, for some, a heavy burden to bear,” the archbishop wrote.
Recalling the words of the late archbishop of Paris, André Cardinal Vingt-Trois, from 14 November 2015, to “receive the grace of a steadfast heart, free from hatred. […] Let us ask for the grace to be peacemakers,” Archbishop Ulrich concluded: “We must never despair of peace if we build justice.”
He said, “Having died and risen, Christ walks through the night for us, walks through the night with us. May he grant us to be ever more faithful witnesses of his hope, his love, and his peace to those who suffer around us, brothers and sisters on the path.”
