Pope Francis declares French Martyrs of Compiègne saints
via equipollent canonization
Blessed Martyrs of
Compiègne were guillotined for their faith on July 17, 1794. | Photo
illustration.
Vatican City, Dec 18, 2024 / 11:17 am
Pope Francis has officially declared the 16 Discalced
Carmelite nuns of Compiègne, executed during the Reign of Terror in the French
Revolution, as saints through the rare procedure of “equipollent canonization.”
Mother Teresa of Saint Augustine and her 15 companions, who
were guillotined in Paris as they sang hymns of praise, can immediately be
venerated worldwide as saints in the Catholic Church.
The equipollent, or “equivalent” canonization, announced by
the Vatican on Wednesday, recognizes the long-standing veneration of the
Carmelite martyrs, who met their deaths with unwavering faith on July 17,
1794.
Their final act of courage and faith inspired Francis Poulenc's
well-known 1957 opera “Dialogue of the Carmelites,” based on the book of the
same name written by famous Catholic novelist and essayist Georges Bernanos.
Like the usual canonization process, equipollent
canonization is an invocation of papal infallibility in which the pope declares
that a person is among the saints in heaven. It avoids the formal process of
canonization as well as the ceremony, since it occurs by the publication of a
papal bull.
Longtime veneration of the saint and demonstrated heroic
virtue are still required, and though no modern miracle is necessary, the fame
of miracles that occurred before or after a saint’s death are also taken into
account after a study is made by the historical section of the Vatican
Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.
Though the process is rare, Pope Francis has declared others
saints through equipollent canonization, such as St. Peter Faber and St.
Margaret of Costello, something that Pope Benedict XVI also did for St.
Hildegard of Bingen and which Pius XI granted for St. Albert the Great.
Who were the Martyrs of Compiègne?
The martyrs, comprising 11 nuns, three lay sisters, and two
externs, were arrested during a time of fierce anti-Catholic persecution.
The French Revolution’s Civil Constitution of the Clergy had outlawed religious
life, and the Carmelites of Compiègne were expelled from their monastery in
1792.
Despite being forced into hiding, the sisters secretly
maintained their communal life of prayer and penance. At the suggestion of the
convent prioress Mother Teresa of St. Augustine, the sisters made an additional
vow: to offer their lives in exchange for an end to the French Revolution and
for the Catholic Church in France.
On the day of their execution, the sisters were transported
through the streets of Paris in open carts, enduring insults from the gathered
crowd. Undeterred, they sang the Miserere, Salve Regina,
and Veni Creator Spiritus as they approached the
scaffold.
Before meeting her death, each sister knelt before their
prioress who gave them permission to die. The prioress was the last to be
executed, her hymn continuing until the blade fell.
Within the following few days, Maximilien Robespierre
himself was executed, bringing an end to the bloody Reign of Terror.
The bodies of the 16 martyrs were buried in a mass grave at
Picpus Cemetery, where a tombstone commemorates their martyrdom. Beatified in
1906 by Pope Pius X, their story has since inspired books, films, and operas.
The feast day of the Martyrs of Compiègne will remain July
17, commemorating the date of their martyrdom.
Other sainthood causes recognized
In addition to the equipollent canonization, Pope Francis
also approved decrees advancing other sainthood causes, including the
beatifications of two 20th-century martyrs: Archbishop Eduardo Profittlich, who
died under communist persecution, and Father Elia Comini, a victim of
Nazi-fascism.
Profittlich, a German Jesuit and archbishop, died in a
Soviet prison in 1942 after enduring torture for refusing to abandon his flock
in Soviet-occupied Estonia.
Comini, a Salesian priest, was executed by Nazis in 1944 for
aiding villagers and offering spiritual support during massacres in northern
Italy.
Pope Francis also recognized the heroic virtues of three
Servants of God: Hungarian Archbishop Áron Márton (1896-1980), Italian priest
Father Giuseppe Maria Leone (1829-1902), and French layman Pietro Goursat
(1914-1991), who founded the Emmanuel Community.
Márton, a bishop who stood against both Nazi and communist
oppression in Romania, defended religious freedom and aided the persecuted
before being sentenced to life imprisonment and forced labor by the Communists
in 1951. He was later released and died of cancer in 1980.
Leone, an Italian Redemptorist priest, dedicated his life to
preaching, spiritual direction, and aiding communities ravaged by epidemics.
Renowned as a confessor and spiritual guide, he helped renew religious life and
inspire lay faithful in post-unification Italy.
French layman Pietro Goursat founded the Emmanuel Community,
a movement promoting prayer and evangelization, particularly among marginalized
youth. Despite personal hardships, he transformed the Sanctuary of the Sacred
Heart in Paray-le-Monial into a spiritual hub and lived his final years in
quiet devotion.
With the decree, the three Servants of God now have the
title of “Venerable” in the Catholic Church.
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