The last Will and Testament of Louis XVI, King of France and Navarre, given on Christmas day, 1792.ShareIn the name of the Very holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Ghost.To-day, the 25th day of December, 1792, I, Louis XVI King of France, being for more than four months imprisoned with my family in the tower of the Temple at Paris, by those who were my subjects, and deprived of all communication whatsoever, even with my family, since the eleventh instant; moreover, involved in a trial the end of which it is impossible to foresee, on account of the passions of men, and for which one can find neither pretext nor means in any existing law, and having no other witnesses, for my thoughts than God to whom I can address myself, I hereby declare, in His presence, my last wishes and feelings.I leave my soul to God, my creator; I pray Him to receive it in His mercy, not to judge it according to its merits but according to those of Our Lord Jesus Christ who has offered Himself as a sacrifice to God His Father for us other men, no matter how hardened, and for me first.I die in communion with our Holy Mother, the Catholic, Apostolic, Roman Church, which holds authority by an uninterrupted succession, from St. Peter, to whom Jesus Christ entrusted it; I believe firmly and I confess all that is contained in the creed and the commandments of God and the Church, the sacraments and the mysteries, those which the Catholic Church teaches and has always taught. I never pretend to set myself up as a judge of the various way of expounding the dogma which rend the church of Jesus Christ, but I agree and will always agree, if God grant me life the decisions which the ecclesiastical superiors of the Holy Catholic Church give and will always give, in conformity with the disciplines which the Church has followed since Jesus Christ. (Read entire Will)
3 comments:
Thank you for posting this. Whenever I read this it puts a lump in my throat. That he could forgive the monsters who tortured and killed his family is beyond me. That in itself is proof of his deep Christian beliefs. He cared for an was concerned for his wife and children until the end. Truly a good, maligned man and king.
A striking contrast to the last will and testament of Bonaparte which was full of himself and his deeds and openly bragged about his role in the murder of the Duc D'Enghien (which even supporters thought a mistake). And yet which man does France still worship and which one do they demonize?
We have all been suckered into believing 'popularized' history.
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