Tuesday, July 17, 2007

The Martyrs of Compiègne

Today is the feast of the Blessed Martyrs of Compiègne. Here is a post that sums up the essence of their ordeal. It is important to recall that the Prioress, Blessed Theresa of St. Augustine, was given her dowry by Queen Marie-Antoinette; otherwise, being impoverished, she would not have been able to enter the monastery. The nuns were ultimately convicted because they had in their posession a portrait of King Louis XVI as well as some Sacred Heart badges, items which branded them as being "counter-revolutionaries." William Bush wrote an excellent book about the martyrs a few years ago called To Quell the Terror. I highly recommend it. Share

2 comments:

Melody K said...

Elena, I'm so glad you mentioned the Martyrs of Compiegne on their feast day. I was hoping someone would. I have been fascinated and edified by them ever since I read "To Quell the Terror" a few years ago. One thing is puzzling; they were to have been canonized as saints in the the early 1990's, but that didn't happen. As far as I know they are still "blesseds". One would think the fact of martyrdom would move their cause forward.

elena maria vidal said...

I don't know why they have not been canonized; it is a mystery to me....