IN TODAY’S LIVES OF THE SAINTS AND MARTYRS THE NUNS WHOSE MARTYRDOMS STOPPED THE FRENCH REIGN OF TERROR

Winchester, VA – The French Revolution was a bloody affair for many in France, but especially for Catholic religious, whose convents and monasteries were closed during the Reign of Terror and who were forbidden from practicing their faith. The 16 Carmelite nuns of Compiegne were one such order, whose convent was closed in 1790, but who were arrested in 1794 on charges of continuing to live in community. Continuing their communal life even while imprisoned, they offered their lives to God for the ending of the Revolution and went to the guillotine singing the Salve Regina. Each nun asked of their mother superior, “Permission to die, Mother?” and Mother Superior responded, “Go, my daughter!”  Days later, the Reign of Terror ended. Blessed Carmelites of Compiegne, pray for us!