Blessed John DuLau and the September Martyrs

02/09/15

Today's Saint:

Blessed John DuLau and the September Martyrs

-They were martyrs during French revolution
-During the revolution, all were imposed to sign an oath of new constitution
-That oath was against church and beliefs
-Prison and persecution was given to those who rejected
-The Catholics including the Bishop, priests, religious and lay people didn't sign
-On September 2nd and 3rd, rioters killed all who rejected the oath against God and church
-191 people accepted martyrdom for faith

Blessed John was the archbishop of Arles, France. He and his companions are celebrated today because they died heroic martyrs’ deaths during the French Revolution. The people were being forced to take an oath to uphold the Constitution of 1790, which was against the Church. If they did not take the oath, they were imprisoned. By 1792, the punishment was death. Many brave bishops, priests, religious, and lay people would not sign the oath supporting the new Constitution. They knew they would be betraying God and his Church. Pope Pius VI told them that they were right and denounced the Constitution. It was a sad time for the people of France. On September 2, 1792, a crowd of several hundred people rioted and broke into a former monastery, which was now a prison for priests and religious. The mob approached several priests and told them to sign the oath. Each priest definitely refused. Each was slain on the spot. Among the martyrs was Blessed Alexander Lenfant, a Jesuit. Just a few minutes before he died, he had been hearing the confession of a fellow priest. Both were killed moments later. The rioters then went to the Carmelite church, which was also being used as a prison. Blessed John, archbishop of Arles, and other bishops and priests were being held there. All refused to take the oath and all were murdered. On September 3, the same mob went to the Lazarist seminary. It was also a temporary prison, with ninety priests and religious. Only four escaped death. By the time the terrible Revolution had ended, 1,500 Catholics had been killed. Several were bishops, priests, and religious. The September Martyrs, whom we celebrate today, number 191. They were proclaimed a blessed in 1926 by Pope Pius XI.

We can ask today’s martyrs to help us understand that we should cherish the precious gift of our Catholic faith. We never want to take our religion for granted.