BLESSED TERESA OF SAINT AUGUSTINE AND COMPANIONS
MARTYRS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
Blessed Teresa of Saint Augustine, prioress of the Carmelite convent in Compiegne, France, led her fifteen daughters, including three lay nuns and two extern sisters, to offer their lives to end the terrible suffering of Robespierre's Reign of Terror during the French Revolution. They refused to obey the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, which demanded the closing of their monastery. They were arrested and brought to Paris where they were guillotined on July 17, 1794. The novice, Sister Constance, was the first to die as the nuns renewed their vows. Ten days later, the Reign of Terror ended with the death of Robespierre. The martyrdom of these sixteen religious woman has inspired numerous works of art including an opera, Dialogues of the Carmelites by Francis Poulenc, a novel by Gertrude von le Forte titled Song of the Scaffold, and a play by George Bernanos. They were beatified by Saint Pope Pius 10th in 1906.
MARTYRS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
Blessed Teresa of Saint Augustine, prioress of the Carmelite convent in Compiegne, France, led her fifteen daughters, including three lay nuns and two extern sisters, to offer their lives to end the terrible suffering of Robespierre's Reign of Terror during the French Revolution. They refused to obey the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, which demanded the closing of their monastery. They were arrested and brought to Paris where they were guillotined on July 17, 1794. The novice, Sister Constance, was the first to die as the nuns renewed their vows. Ten days later, the Reign of Terror ended with the death of Robespierre. The martyrdom of these sixteen religious woman has inspired numerous works of art including an opera, Dialogues of the Carmelites by Francis Poulenc, a novel by Gertrude von le Forte titled Song of the Scaffold, and a play by George Bernanos. They were beatified by Saint Pope Pius 10th in 1906.