Born into a very pious family, Maire became religious from a young age. He entered the Collège de Pelousey and the Lycée Saint-Jean de Besançon, where he earned his
baccalauréat. After his studies in biology, he spent his military service in Haiti. He then earned a degree in theology in
Rome, being ordained a priest and joining the
Company of Mary. He then trained seminarians in Uganda for many years. A
biblical critic, Maire was passionate about the
Church Fathers and the
Patristics, he also earned a degree in psychology. Upon his return to France, he was elected
provincial superior of the Montfortaines and was installed in Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre. Olivier Maire was murdered on 9 August 2021,by
Emmanuel Abayisenga, a Rwandan national who was suspected of having started the
2020 Nantes Cathedral fire and whom he had taken in. His funeral took place on 13 August 2021, in the Basilica of Saint
Louis de Montfort in Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre, celebrated by Monsignor
Éric de Moulins-Beaufort, president of the
Bishops' Conference of France, Monsignor
François Jacolin, Bishop of
Luçon, and Reverend Luis Augusto Stefani, Superior General of the Company of Mary.
Minister of Justice Éric Dupond-Moretti and
Senator Bruno Retailleau also attended the ceremony. ==References==