Lombardy's regional governor Roberto Maroni has urged the Pope to put the elderly French priest slain by alleged Islamic State jihadists on a fast track for sainthood.
"Father Jacques Hamel, whose throat was slit so horribly - like an animal - by two Islamist terrorists in his church should immediately be made a saint, " tweeted Maroni, who is Italy's former interior minister.
"A prayer for a martyr of the faith and request to Pope Francis: make Father Jacques a saint straight away #padrejacquessantosubito," Maroni wrote on Facebook.
Shortly after his appeal, the hashtag, which translates as 'sainthood immediately,' began circulating on Twitter.
Eighty-four-year-old Hamel was allegedly beheaded Tuesday by two armed men in attack at his church in the Normandy town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, near Rouen, which was claimed by IS.
In the case of a martyr, only one miracle is needed for sainthood after beatification and a declaration by the Vatican that the person died for the faith.
The regular canonisation process is a lengthy one involving two miracles attributed to the candidate.
