A pilgrim has credited his Catholic faith with giving him the courage to take on a knifeman who attacked children in a French park on Thursday. 

The 24-year-old, named only as Henri, chased after the attacker and used his backpack to block him.

Henri was visiting the park in Annecy while on pilgrimage around cathedrals when the attack unfolded on Thursday morning, leaving four children, including a British girl, badly injured.

Talking to CNEWS, Henri suggested it was God's will that he was in the park at the time of the attack.

"All I know is that I was not there by chance. On my journey to the cathedrals I crossed paths with this man and I have acted instinctively. It was unthinkable to do nothing," he said. 

He has been hailed a hero and has since met French President Emmanuel Macron. 

The suspect in the attack is a 31-year-old Syrian who had refugee status in Sweden. Media reports say that he claimed to be a Christian and was seen clutching a crucifix necklace during the attack. 

Asked what he thought about reports of the attacker being a Christian, Henri said, "It is profoundly unchristian to attack the vulnerable.

"The entire Christian civilisation on which our country is built is a knightly message to defend widows and orphans. I think that, on the contrary, something very bad inhabited him."