Re-examining the legacy of Louis XVI.
Around 1,000 turn up there for the memorial Mass on January 21st, the date of Louis XVI’s death. It is, I was told, the largest one in Paris, though dozens are said the same day throughout France. Some – notably in the regions of Tours, Aquitaine and Britanny – are even advertised in the regional press.
ShareToday's Mass, in the Chapelle Expiatoire, whose vertical altar was erected right over the former grave of Louis XVI and his spouse, had for 50 years taken place on the Sunday nearest to January 21st.
But it was not an exercise in self-indulgence, emphasised the priest. “We are not here for nostalgia but because France was originally a Christian country,” he said.”Louis XVI was faithful to his Christian faith and utterly lacking in any spirit of revenge.”
The organisers from the Institut de La Maison de Bourbon, a cultural institute devoted to promulgating the memory and legacy of France’s kings, said Louis XVI was much loved, the victim of foreign powers jealous of France, and his cousins in the Orleans family. His negative reputation since death, they blame on the politically correct version of French history they claim is taught in the Republic’s schools, but which has more recently been challenged by French revisionist historians.
“The country was horrified by his death, and all the provinces utterly opposed to what happened in Paris. He was the Father of the nation.” a spokeswoman later explained. Certainly those present, as we approached the Eucharistic liturgy, seem wrapped in sorrow, the atmosphere heightened by the white tapers in gilded brackets that light the Chapelle, suffusing its pale stone with a golden glow. As I handed round the collection basket – at the request of a lady in a fur hat - I sensed I was intruding on a private grief.
6 comments:
He was a victim of his time, a victim of people that don't understand very well what they want to do.
Regards.
He went to a better place as martyr for the past sins of his predecessors How saddened he would have been to have seen what happened to his beloved country and countrymen in the years that followed.
There are some tragedies that just never waver in their power to sadden and anger us, no matter how much time passes.
When I saw "Father of the Nation" I thought it was perhaps a reference to America since, though many not wish to admit it, there would be no United States without his help. That is why even the radical Thomas Paine voted against his execution because he warned the French that if they executed Louis XVI, who was so beloved in the US, they would instantly forfeit the support of the Americans and turn the US firmly against the Revolution. Of course he was not listened to and ended up in jail for his trouble.
When the fanatics murdered King Louis XVI they murdered more than a man; they murdered a kingdom, an ancient institution since the fifth century. They also began their slow relentless attack on Christianity which gave birth to the concept and entity of France. The nation would never again know stability in its political institutions and families would be divided against each other down through the centuries. How King Louis XVI would have cried to see his beloved nation so scarred by strife. France was never too good for His Majesty; it was King Louis XVI that was too good for France.
He was so noble in facing this cruel and humiliating death. He was still so young, too...
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