Field reporters especially like to capture two kinds of stories: extraordinary people in ordinary situations, and ordinary people in extraordinary situations. The latter almost certainly applies to Fr. Jean-Marc Fournier, a Catholic priest who doubles as the chaplain to a fire brigade in Paris. The extraordinary occurred in the late afternoon of April 15 when the cleric’s mobile phone rang.
Fr. Fournier, who survived an ambush in Afghanistan that killed 10 troops, soon found himself directing an effort to save priceless items from Notre-Dame Cathedral, which was engulfed in flames. They include not just the Eucharist, which Catholics believe is the actual presence of Jesus under the forms of bread and wine, but also what is said to be the real Crown of Thorns, which Christians believe was placed on Jesus’s head by his executioners before his crucifixion. Emergency workers declared Fr. Fournier "an absolute hero." Courtesy The Daily Telegraph.