Saint of the Day: Carmelite Martyrs of Compiegne

Carmelite and Lay Martyrs (d. 1794)

Their story

+ On July 17, 1794, a group of sixteen women from Compiegne were executed by guillotine at Paris’ Place du Trône Renversé (the modern-day Place de la Nation). 

+ Included in the group were eleven Discalced Carmelite choir nuns, three lay sisters, and two “tourieres” (women who acted as servants for the community). Their “crime” was their fidelity to the Church and their Carmelite vocation.

+ Before they were martyred, the women knelt and chanted the Veni Creator, after which the women renewed their baptismal and—for the religious—their Carmelite vows.

+ As she was ascending the scaffold, one of the nuns began to sing a hymn (although there is some debate as to which hymn was sung, with both the Salve Regina and Psalm 117 being considered possibilities). The hymn was taken up by the other martyrs as, one by one, they ascended the steps to the guillotine. The last of the nuns to die was the prioress, Blessed Teresa of St. Augustine.

+ The Martyrs of Compiegne—known formally as Blessed Teresa of St. Augustine and Companions—were beatified in 1906. 

+ The story of the Martyrs of Compiegne has captured the imagination of poets, artists, and musicians, including Francis Poulenc’s celebrated opera The Dialogues of the Carmelites, based on an earlier play by Georges Bernanos.

For prayer and reflection

“Let nothing else be now in your hearts and minds except God's commandments and the precepts of heaven: by their means the Holy Spirit has always inspired you to bear your sufferings. Let no one think of death, but only of immortality; let no one think of suffering that is for a time, but only of glory that is for eternity. It is written: Precious in the sight of God is the death of his holy ones. And again: A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit; a broken and humbled heart God does not despise.”—Saint Cyprian of Carthage

Spiritual bonus

On this day, certain local churches and religious communities celebrate a special commemoration in honor of the “Humility of Mary,” honoring Mary’s humility before the Divine Mystery, especially as she encountered it in the Annunciation, Visitation, and Nativity of her Son. The feast invites us reflection on her words in the Magnificat: “He has looked with favor on his lowly servant.” The Sisters of the Humility of Mary (established in France in 1855) are named in honor of this virtue of the Blessed Mother. 

Prayer

Lord God,
you called Blessed Teresa of St. Augustine and her companions
to go on in the strength of the Holy Spirit from the heights of Carmel to receive a martyrs’ crown.
May our love too so steadfast that it will bring us
to the everlasting vision of your glory.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen. 

(from The Carmelite Sacramentary)
Saint profiles prepared by Fr. Silas Henderson, S.D.S.