A man pretending to be a priest in order to find accommodation with religious people is wanted by the police after having stayed in Vienne, the Poitiers public prosecutor's office announced on Monday, which opened an investigation for "attempted fraud".
This individual presents himself under the identities of
“Brother Jourdain”
or
“Father Vitalis”
, according to a source close to the file, confirming information from France 3 Occitanie.
Accompanied by a young man, this false priest, claiming to be from Belgium, passed through Vienne a few weeks ago where he was received at the Ligugé Abbey, near Poitiers, then at the Fontgombault Abbey. (Indre), according to the daily
La Nouvelle République
.
“An investigation has been opened for attempted fraud (use of a false status in order to obtain accommodation)
,” declared Cyril Lacombe, public prosecutor in Poitiers.
“Investigations are continuing to locate the accused in order to question him
,” he added.
The Poitiers police were responsible for the investigation, opened after a report made by religious people who received the individual.
“He did not have the knowledge to celebrate mass and when people wanted to ask him for the + celebret + (Catholic identification document, Editor's note) that all priests have, he refused to give it and left”
, a source close to the matter told AFP.