The new Saint Thérèse of Saint Augustine and her companion martyrs
The sixteen martyred nuns of Compiègne have been declared saints
If you already knew about the sixteen French nuns who faced death by the guillotine with extraordinary courage, you probably already thought they were saints. On December 18, 2024, Pope Francis made that official through the process of equipollent canonization.
Their beatification as martyrs occurred in 1906. Although they were only recognized as blesseds, that did not stop Francis Poulenc from composing an opera in their honor, which he titled Dialogues of the Carmelites. That opera, in turn, was based on a novel that was previously written by Gertrud von Le Fort, Song of the Scaffold.
The circumstances of the nuns’ deaths were typical of the French Revolution. Revolutionary officials during this period executed a lot of people, for almost any reason or no reason at all, but members of the Catholic Church were particularly targeted.
The sixteen Carmelite nuns of the city of Compiègne had already been evicted from their convent. Officials later decided to arrest them, and, unsurprisingly, the women were sentenced to death, simply for their faith.
On July 17, 1794, these brave, faithful women were taken to a guillotine in Paris and were marched, one by one, to their deaths. Large, angry, mocking crowds always showed up for these executions. But the peace and calm exhibited by the nuns, who behaved as if they were calmly renewing their religious vows rather than facing death by beheading, shocked the jaded onlookers.
Not only were the eyewitnesses moved by the sight, a seeming miracle occurred. The Reign of Terror ended soon after their deaths. It was as if God had accepted the pure act of self-oblation offered by these sixteen women and stopped the bloodshed Himself.
The names of all sixteen saints are:
Thérèse of Saint Augustine Lidoine, superior
Marie-Anne-Francoise of Saint Louis Brideau
Marie-Anne of Jesus Crucified Piedcourt
Charlotte of the Resurrection Thouret
Euphrasie of the Immaculate Conception Brard
Henriette of Jesus de Croissy
Thérèse of Mary's Heart Hanniset
Thérèse of Saint Ignatius Trezelle
Julie-Louise of Jesus Chretien de Neuville
Marie Henriette of Providence Pelras
Constance Meunier
Marie of the Holy Spirit Roussel
Marie of Saint Martha Dufour
Élisabeth Julie of Saint Francis Verolot
Catherine Soiron
Thérèse Soiron