Memorial of the Blessed Martyrs of Compiègne

"Among the victims of cruelty who shed their blood for the faith of Christ at Paris, towards the end of the eighteenth century, sixteen Carmelite nuns gave an admirable example of heroism. Their leader and Prioress was Teresa of St Augustine. At first they were driven from their monastery at Compiègne; then as the fury of hatred for the very name of Christian mounted around them, they were thrown into prison in June, 1794. Not long afterwards they were brought to Paris, their hands bound behind their backs, and exposed to the insults of soldiers and people, then imprisoned in a filthy jail. Without witnesses to testify for them, without legal counsel, in a disorderly court, they were sentenced to death for this one cause: that they remained faithful to their Religious Order. These brave women were filled with joy when they heard their sentence; because they were confident that this would bring them the crown of martyrdom. Walking with joyful faces, singing hymns alternately as though in choir, they went to the place of execution as though on a march of triumph. One after another, like fragrant roses, they were beheaded. Last of all, like the mother of the Macchabees, Teresa offered her head to the guillotine. The fame of this martyrdom spread far and wide within a short time and miracles soon enhanced its glory. These sixteen illustrious martyrs were added tot he list of the blessed by the Supreme Pontiff Pius X."

-- From the 1966 Discalced Carmelite Proper

Feast of the Blessed Martyrs of Compiègne

"In September, 1792, Mother Teresa of St Augustine, prioress of the Carmelites of Compiègne, proposed to her religious that they make an act of consecration by which the community would offer itself as a holocaust to God, 'so that peace may be restored to the church and the state.' Each day, until their deaths, they renewed this offering of their lives.

The sisters had to leave their monastery on September 14, the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. They found refuge with some friendly families near their parish church of Saint-Antoine. For a period of time they assembled there for Mass celebrated by Abbé Courouble, the chaplain of the community. In 1794, denounced by the postmaster, all the sisters were arrested and locked up in the convent of the Visitation, which had been transformed into a prison. Transferred to Paris on July 12, they were summarily judged on the morning of July 17, and condemned for their 'fanaticism and their foolish religious practices.' The same night they were taken by cart to the gate of Vincennes (Place de la Nation) to be executed."

-- The Mantle of Elijah: The Martyrs of Compiègne as Prophets of the Modern Age by Terrye Newkirk, ocds

Their names are:

1. Madeleine-Claudine Ledoine (Mother Teresa of St Augustine), prioress, b. 22 September 1752, professed 16 or 17 May, 1775;
2. Marie-Anne Brideau (Mother St Louis), sub-prioress, b. 7 December 1752, professed 3 September 1771;
3. Marie-Anne Piedcourt (Sister of Jesus Crucified), choir-nun, b. 1715, professed 1737; on mounting the scaffold she said "I forgive you as heartily as I wish God to forgive me";
4. Anne-Marie-Madeleine Thouret (Sister Charlotte of the Resurrection), sacristan, b. 16 September 1715, professed 19 August 1740;
5. Marie-Antoniette (Sister Teresa of the Holy Heart of Mary), b. in 1740 or 1742, professed in 1764;
6. Marie-Françoise Gabrielle de Croissy (Mother Henriette of Jesus), b. 18 June 1745, professed 22 February 1764;
7. Marie-Gabrielle Trézel (Sister Teresa of St Ignatius), choir-nun, b. 4 April, 1743 professed 12 December 1771;
8. Rose-Chrétien de la Neuville, widow, choir-nun (Sister Julia Louisa of Jesus), b. in 1741, professed probably in 1777;
9. Anne Petras (Sister Mary Henrietta of Providence), choir-nun, b. 17 June 1760, professed 22 October 1786.
10. Sister Euphrasia of the Immaculate Conception b. in 1736 professed in 1757;
11. Marie-Geneviève Meunier (Sister Constance), novice, b. 28 May 1765 (or 1766), received the habit 16 December 1788. She mounted the scaffold singing "Laudate Dominum".
12. Angélique Roussel (Sister Mary of the Holy Ghost), lay sister, b. 4 August 1742, professed 14 May 1769;
13. Marie Dufour (Sister St Martha), lay sister, b. 1 or 2 October, 1742, entered the community in 1772;
14. Julie or Juliette Vérolot (Sister St Francis Xavier), lay sister, b. 11 January 1764, professed 12 January 1789.

Two Extern Sisters also gave their lives for the faith.

1. Marie-Anne-Catherine Soiron, 52 yrs old at time of martyrdom
2. Thérèse Soiron, 46 yrs old at time of martyrdom

Only 3 members of the community survived. They were absent when the others were arrested.

-- To Quell the Terror: The True Story of the Carmelite Martyrs of Compiègne by William Bush

Bl Martyrs of Compiègne, pray for us!