SAINT-ETIENNE-DU-ROUVRAY, France (AP) — A Normandy church where Islamic extremists slit a priest's throat and used nuns as human shields is reopening to parishioners for the first time since the gruesome attack.

A procession is planned Sunday through the town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray to the Catholic church where two 19-year-old radicals killed 85-year-old priest Jacques Hamel on July 26 and took elderly parishioners hostage. The attackers were later killed by police.

A special ceremony will be held to restore the sacred nature of the church, followed by a Mass led by the archbishop of Rouen.

A local imam has reportedly invited Muslim residents to join in the public gathering. Muslims across France attended Mass to show solidarity after the attack, one of several targeting France over the past two years claimed by Islamic State extremists.