Carmelite Martyrs of Compiègne

Each took their turn kneeling before Mother Teresa of Saint-Augustine, received her blessing, kissed a little statuette of the Madonna and child, and asked,

"Permission to die, Mother?"

"Go, my daughter!"

July 17th - Memorial

Blessed Teresa of Saint-Augustine

and Companions

As the French Revolution entered its worst days, sixteen Discalced Carmelites from the Monastery of the Incarnation in Compiègne offered their lives as a sacrifice to God, making reparation to him and imploring peace for the Church. On June 24^th, 1794 , they were arrested and thrown into prison. Their happiness and resignation were so evident that those around them were also encouraged to draw strength from God’s love. They were condemned to death for their fidelity to the Church and their religious life and for their devotion to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Singing hymns, and having renewed their vows before the superior, Teresa of Saint Augustine, they were put to death in Paris on July 17^th, 1794.

Prayer

Lord God,

you called Blessed Teresa of St Augustine and her companions

to go in the strength of the Holy Spirit

from the heights of Carmel to receive a martyr’s crown.

May our love too be so steadfast

that it will bring us

to the everlasting vision of your glory.

We ask this through Christ, our Lord.

Texts taken from the “Carmelite Proper of the Liturgy of the Hours,”

Institutum Carmelitanum, Rome: 1993.

The Discalced Carmelite Martyrs of Compiègne

July 17, 1794

Sr. Jesus Crucified, age 78, choir sister

Sr. Charlotte of the Resurrection, age 78, choir sister

Sr. Euphrasia of the Immaculate Conception, age 58, choir sister

Sr. Julie Louise of Jesus, age 52, choir sister

Sr. Teresa of the Heart of Mary, age 52, choir sister

Sr. Saint Martha, age 52, lay sister

Sr. Catherine, 52, extern

Sr. Marie of the Holy Spirit, age 51, lay sister

Sr. Teresa of Saint-Ignatius, age 51, choir sister

Mother Henriette of Jesus, age 49, past prioress and novice mistress,

choir sister

Sr. Teresa, age 46, extern

Sr Saint Louis, age 42, subprioress, choir sister

Mother Teresa of Saint-Augustine, age 41, Prioress, choir sister

Sr. Marie Henriette of the Divine Providence, age 34, choir sister

Sr. St. Francis Xavier, age 30, lay sister

Sr. Constance, age 29, novice choir sister. New laws in 1789 alone kept her

from making her life vows that year.

- above list adapted from To Quell the Terror by William Bush, ICS Publications, Washington, DC, 1999

For more information on the Carmilite Martyrs of Compiègne, click on the link below to secure a copy of the book.

To Quell The Terror

" We must train ourselves to thwart our own wills in every way; then, if you try hard, as I have said, though you won't get their all of a sudden, you will gradually arrive, without realizing it, at the peak of perfection. "

- St Teresa of Jesus , Way of Perfection

"The life of a good religious, a person who wants to be one of God's really close friends - is one long martyrdom."

- St Teresa of Jesus, Way of Perfection