Five French priests killed “out of hatred for the faith” in 1871 during the Paris Commune were beatified on April 22, in the Church of Saint Sulpice.
Newsroom (03/05/2023 17:03, Gaudium Press) The beatification rite took place in the Church of Saint Sulpice, and was presided over by Cardinal Marcelo Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of the Saints, who went from Rome to Paris especially for the occasion.
Cardinal Semeraro read Pope Francis’ apostolic letter, in which he decrees that the five priests – Fr. Henri Planchat, Fr. Ladislas Radigue, Fr. Polycarpe Tuffier, Fr. Jean-Marie Rouchouze and Frézal Tardieu – “all gathered in the testimony of faith to be rendered to the shedding of blood,” may “in the future be called blessed.”
The first belonged to the Congregation of the Religious of St. Vincent de Paul, the other four to the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (Picpus). The five priests were shot on May 26, 1871, during the “Bloody Week” of the Paris Commune.
Who are these martyrs?
The first martyr was Father Henri Planchat, born in 1823. He entered the Institute of St. Vincent de Paul (Lazarists) and was ordained in 1850. He continued his studies in Italy and returned to France to exercise his pastoral ministry in several French cities. In 1863, he was transferred to Paris, where he cared for the poor, the war wounded and the sick. He is described as a “hunter of souls”, “father of the poor and tireless evangelist”. He was arrested on April 6, 1871 by the authorities of the Paris Commune, accused of hiding weapons.
The other four martyrs are described as “incessant formators of youth” and “generous shepherds of the communities entrusted to them”:
Father Ladislas Radigue was born in 1823. He entered the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary and of the Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament (Picpus) in 1843, and was ordained in 1848. He became the Superior of the motherhouse of this congregation located in Picpus, east of Paris. He was arrested on April 12, 1871 by the Commune authorities.
Father Polycarpe Tuffier, born in 1807, was also a member of the congregation called Picpus since 1823. Ordained in 1830, he was chaplain in Paris for a long period and then became procurator of his congregation at the motherhouse.
Father Marcellin Rouchouze, born in 1810, was the 3rd member of the Picpus Congregation. He taught Latin, mathematics and philosophy and was sent to Belgium to work in the colleges of the congregation. On meeting the Curé d’Ars in 1852, the latter told him, “My son, you must be a priest; the good God has designs for you.” At the age of 42, he followed the Curé d’Ars’ advice and was ordained a priest in 1852. He was in Paris during the Commune. When the National Guard arrived at the House of the Picpus Fathers to search for him, the prior asked, “What are you looking for here? We don’t do politics.” A guard replied, “It is not your politics that we fear, but you celebrate masses and wear scapulars; we don’t want these superstitions anymore.” He was shot with the other priests.
Father Frézal Tardieu, born in 1814, also belonged to the Picpus Community, ordained in 1840. He was the comforter of the afflicted in the institutions where he taught, and used to say that “it was better to talk to God than to talk about God.” He was professor of dogmatic theology and general councilor of the Congregation at the Picpus motherhouse in Paris, when he was arrested and shot.
The Paris Commune
In 1871, after the Franco-Prussian War, the Republic was proclaimed in France. On March 26 of that year, there was an insurrection known as the Paris Commune, an anticlerical regime, which united Jacobins, Communists, and anarchists, which directly persecuted the Church in Paris by desecrating churches and cemeteries, setting arson fires, etc.
The Congregation for the Causes of Saints explained that hatred of the faith was “the dominant motivation for the actions of the executioners.” “The Commune, apart from socio-political demands, had obvious antireligious implications,” the dicastery considered, the Communards (revolutionaries of the Commune animated by libertarian and socialist ideals) saw religion as “an obstacle to be eliminated.”
Hatred of faith is further confirmed by the “ferocity perpetrated against the religious by the angry mob and by the looting of places and furniture used for worship,” as well as by Eucharistic desecrations. All the martyrs were also “aware of the risk they were running.”
The liturgical memory of these martyrs will be celebrated on May 26, the day of their martyrdom.
Compiled by Angelica Vecchiato
