Saint of the Month: The Carmelite Martyrs of Compiègne

The Carmelite Martyrs of Compiègne were sixteen women who gave their lives for the Faith during France’s horrifying Reign of Terror. Beginning in 1790, the tragic French Revolution erupted in rebellion against the monarchy. Because of its relationship with the monarchy, the revolutionaries turned their most lethal vengeance towards the Catholic Church. That year, religious life and vows were banned by the newly established “Civil Constitution of the Clergy”. This draconian new law required priests to take an oath to the revolutionary government, forcing many to go “underground”. More than three thousand priests and religious were murdered during this brutal de-Christianization revolution. The revolutionary government forces arrived at the Carmelite monastery at Compiègne, some forty miles north of Paris, in August of 1790. They told each of the nuns that she must choose between renouncing her vows and facing dire consequences. All the nuns refused, but they were allowed to remain for a time. 

THE PERSECUTION BEGINS

By the spring of 1792, the government had begun disrupting Masses and raiding churches. The Carmelite Prioress, Mother Teresa of St. Augustine had had a mystical experienced in 1789, in which she saw several saints in a vision, including the discalced Carmelite foundress St. Teresa of Avila. From that experience, she intuited that she was going to “follow the way of the Lamb”, meaning martyrdom. When the government raids began, she shared that experience with her nuns and recommended to them that they offer their lives as a sacrifice for the Church in France. She left it to each sister to freely choose. They were forcibly removed from their convent and Mother Teresa found four places for the women to disperse for housing. They continued to meet for prayer and the living of their vocation as best they could.  The wearing of religious habits was against the law, so Mother arranged for secular clothing for them all. By August of that year, every convent in France had been closed.

"SILLY RELIGIOUS PRACTICES"

On June 22 of 1794, after the Reign of Terror had begun, the Carmelite’s apartments were raided in search of anything perceived as negative toward the agenda of the revolution. They were arrested and taken to Paris on July 10 to undergo trial. They were allowed to wash their secular clothing which was still soaking and were thus wearing habits similar to their own when they were taken to trial on July 17. For their trial, they had no legal counsel. They were charged with, among other things, treason, fanaticism, and hiding weapons, to which Mother Teresa raised a crucifix, stating that it was the only weapon they had. When asked, the judge stated that the fanaticism was their “attachment to your childish beliefs and your silly religious practices”. All sixteen were sentenced to death. They were carted through the Paris streets for two hours, chanting the Divine Office and singing hymns, before arriving at the scaffold. The gathered crowd mocked them as they were paraded through the city. 

AS IF GOING TO THEIR WEDDING

One by one, the nuns renewed their vows to Mother Teresa before stepping to the guillotine. The youngest, Sister Constance, who had not yet made her final vows, pronounced them before being the first to die. One by one, they went to the gruesome scaffold, chanting until the last moment, with Mother Teresa being the last to die. One witness to this event reported that the nuns went to their deaths with the demeanor of women going to their wedding. Just ten days later, the “Committee of Public Safety” fell from power and the Reign of Terror was over. The nun’s remains were placed in a Mass grave. The secular clothing that they had left behind to dry, however, was collected by a group of English Benedictine nuns who considered them second-class relics and brought them back to England, where they are currently venerated at Stonebrook Abbey.

THE COLLAPSE OF THE REIGN OF TERROR

The sixteen Carmelites were comprised of eleven choir nuns: Prioress Mother Teresa of St. Augustine, born in 1752; sub-prioress Mother St. Louis, born in 1752; former prioress Mother Henriette of Jesus, born 1745; Sister Mary of Jesus Crucified, born 1715; Sister Charlotte of the Resurrection, born 1715; Sister Euphrasia of the Immaculate Conception, born 1736; Sister Teresa of the Sacred Heart of Mary, born 1740; sister Julie-Louise of Jesus, born 1741; Sister Teresa of St. Ignatius, born 1743; Sister Mary-Henrietta of Providence, born 1760; and Sister Constance of St. Denis, born 1765. There were three lay sisters: Sister St. Martha, born 1742; Sister Mary of the Holy Spirit, born 1742; and Sister St. Francis-Xavier, born 1764. There were two tertiaries/extern sisters: Catherine Soiron, born 1742; and Thėrèse Soiron, born 1748. Many of the French people attributed the collapse of the Reign of Terror to the sacrifice of these brave women. There have been four documented miracles attributed to their intercession, including a lay Carmelite in New Orleans. All sixteen were canonized together in December of 2024. Books, movies, and even an opera have been made about their amazing story. The Compiègne Carmelites feast day is July 17, the day after the feast day of their great patroness, Our Lady of Mount Carmel.