Saints of the Month - July 2017: The Blessed Carmelite Martyrs of Compiegne

The Blessed

Carmelite Martyrs of Compiegne

A Song of Triumph at the Scaffold

Memorial; July 17th

At the height of the French Revolution in the late 18th Century, during the infamous Reign of Terror, the National Assembly (the governing party that deposed the monarchy) adopted the spirit of anti-clericalism. The revolutionaries aggressively campaigned to wipe out Christianity throughout France by confiscating Church property, and suppressing convents and monasteries.  Furthermore, they proclaimed the “abolition” of the Sunday Obligation and the various feasts of the Catholic Church, as well as, the validity of monastic vows.

In 1790, the Civil Constitution of the Clergy was enacted, which required priests to pronounce an oath of loyalty to the government that was in direct conflict with any loyalties directed towards the Pope and the Catholic Church.  Those who refused to comply with this law were either exiled, imprisoned, or executed as traitors.

It was in this climate of open hostility towards any faith-expression that 16 heroic, consecrated women bravely met their end… for simply refusing to betray Jesus, their Divine Spouse.  Their names were, as follows:

 +  Mo. Therese of St. Augustine, Prioress (age 41)

 +  Mo. St. Louis, Sub-Prioress (age 42)

 +  Mo. Henriette of Jesus, Novice Mistress (age 49)

 +  Sr. Marie of Jesus Crucified, Choir Sister (age 78)

 +  Sr. Charlotte of the Resurrection, Choir Sister (age 78)

 +  Sr. Euphrasia of the Immaculate Conception, Choir Sister (age 58)

 +  Sr. Therese of the Heart of Mary, Choir Sister (age 52)

 +  Sr. Julie Louise of Jesus, Choir Sister (age 54)

 +  Sr. Therese of St. Ignatius, Choir Sister (age 51)

 +  Sr. Marie-Henrietta of Providence, Choir Sister (age 34)

 +  Sr. St. Martha, Lay Sister (age 52)

 +  Sr. Marie of the Holy Spirit, Lay Sister (age 51)

 +  Sr. St. Francis Xavier, Lay Sister (age 30)

 +  Sr. Constance, Novice (age 29)

 +  Catherine Soiron, Extern (age 52)

 +  Thérèse Soiron, Extern (age 46)

In August 1790, officials of the National Assembly raided the Discalced Carmelite Monastery of Compiegne with the intent of coercing its occupants into submitting to their anti-clerical agenda.  Each member of the community was bribed with promises of freedom and money if she would only renounce consecrated life – not one accepted, but rather, the Prioress, Mo. Therese of St. Augustine, was inspired to lead her community in a “vow of martyrdom”.  Together, the Carmelites offered themselves collectively as a sacrifice to God so as to obtain the end of the tide of violence that engulfed France and the local Church.  They repeated this special offering daily.

On September 14th, the Feast of the Triumph of the Holy Cross, the nuns found themselves out in the street after their monastery was closed and looted.  They were forced to remove their habits, the wearing of which was outlawed, and donned cast off civilian wear since they had no money to buy clothing.  Despite their uncertain predicament, the sisters continued to practice their strict routine of devotion and prayer while sheltering in small groups within the homes of sympathetic neighbors. 

In June 1794, government officials again appeared in Compiegne and, upon finding a portrait of King Louis XVI and a prayer for the king to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in one of the improvised convents, the Carmelites were all taken into custody.  The religious were then jailed in the town of Cambrai where they were imprisoned along with 17 Benedictine Nuns who had fled from England during the religious persecution launched by King Henry VIII.  This Benedictine community was witness to the daily self-offering heroically made by the Carmelites to the Lord.

On July 11th, both groups of religious were hurriedly transported to Paris where they were to be “tried” for treason. It wasn’t a surprise that, on July 17, 1794, amidst the mockery of a hostile crowd, the 16 Carmelites were accused of various absurd charges that included the hiding of weapons in their monastery.  To this the Prioress responded by lifting a crucifix and saying, "This is the only weapon we have had in our house." 

Pilgrims praying at the site in the Picpus

Cemetery in Paris, where the Carmelite

Martyrs were interred along with other

victims of the French Revolution.

Needless to  say, the Sisters were all found guilty and sentenced to be guillotined on the very same day as their trial.  Providentially, on the day before they were brought to Paris, the nuns had washed their secular clothing so they had to appear at trial garbed in the habits they were prohibited from wearing.  Thus, they were poised to meet their Divine Spouse appropriately dressed – as true brides of Christ!  So, as the nuns were led to the scaffold, they jointly renewed their vows and sang the Veni Creator Spiritus.

Mo. Therese of St. Augustine then stepped forward and requested to be the last to die so she could prayerfully encourage her spiritual daughters. The novice, Sr. Constance, was the first to advance and before ascending the scaffold, she knelt before Mo. Therese to kiss a ceramic figure of the Madonna and Child that the prioress held in her hand. Sr. Constance then asked of her the permission to die to which the prioress responded, "Go, my daughter."  The novice then made her way up the scaffold, singing, and with solemn dignity befitting a spouse of the King of Heaven!

One by one, each sister repeated Sr. Constance's final act of obedience before ascending the platform as the others sang hymns; their countenances were suffused with joy and peace.  Long before the last nun was killed the unruly jeering had ceased and an uncomfortable hush had fallen over the crowd.

Incidentally, the Reign of Terror ended just 10 days after the execution of the Carmelites of Compiegne.  The English Benedictines, who had shared imprisonment with the Martyrs, survived the massacre and eventually returned to their own country.  They attributed their survival and the unexpected end of the revolution to the heroic offering made by their fellow Sisters in Christ.  Upon their release from prison, the Benedictines were wearing the civilian dresses left behind by the Carmelites, which they treasured as relics from henceforth.

A plastic devotional leaflet enclosing

moss taken from the grave of the Carmelite

Martyrs of Compiegne.

Sadly, no bodily relics of the 16 Carmelite Martyrs are available for the veneration of the Faithful, as their remains were thrown into a mass grave along with other executed victims and are impossible to identify. However, their legacy of courage and faith endures… and is still relevant today, especially as the spirit of anti-clericalism is again rearing its ugly head in our very own times.  

The 16 Martyrs of Compiegne were Beatified as a group on May 13, 1906, by Pope Pius X.  May they pray for us, Christians, and for the whole world.

A Reflection

"Give over our hearts to joy, the day of glory has arrived..."  ~ Words of a hymn composed by the Carmelites of Compiegne in preparation of their deaths. 

A Short Prayer

Lord, in the midst of the growing persecution of Christians, grant us the faith, courage, and joy of the Carmelite Martyrs of Compiegne.  Amen.