The Church and the Congregation of the Mission honor the martyrs of the French Revolution together. On September 3, 1792, in Paris, a massacre occurred at Saint-Firmin Seminary, the former “Collège des Bons Enfants,” acquired by Saint Vincent de Paul in 1624. This seminary, turned into a prison in 1789, was the fourth site of massive executions in Paris. Seventy-two victims suffered martyrdom, including:
LOUIS JOSEPH FRANÇOIS
He was born on February 3, 1751, in Busigny (Nord). He was ordained a priest in 1773 and admitted to the Congregation of the Mission on October 4, 1776. His missionary work was in priestly formation, first in the seminary in Troyes and then in Paris at Saint-Firmin Seminary, of which he became the Superior in 1788.
Although times were difficult, he made sure that the seminary maintained regularity. He wrote several leaflets against the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, including one entitled “Apologia.” Although persecution was already raging, he opened the doors of Saint-Firmin Seminary to more than ninety priests and religious. When the house was invaded by assailants, Blessed Louis Joseph François was seized and thrown from a window. Once on the ground, he was beaten, and his cadaver was cruelly profaned like that of the other victims. Louis Joseph François, the scholar, was beatified by Pope Pius XI on October 17, 1926, with the martyrs of the Revolution, including Jean Henri Gruyer, the experienced pastor of his flock.
JEAN HENRI GRUYER
He was born in Dôle (Vosges) on June 13, 1734. He was ordained a priest for the diocese of Saint-Claude. He was admitted to the Congregation of the Mission on January 23, 1771. As the Congregation of the Mission took responsibility for more and more parishes, particularly in the eighteenth century, experienced pastors were necessary. Jean Henri would thus be assigned to parish ministry. The Revolution found him in Versailles where he was a vicar in the parish of Saint Louis. Expelled from the parish for refusing to take the civil oath, he returned to Paris where Saint-Firmin Seminary opened its doors to him and where he died on September 3, 1792, sharing in suffering and martyrdom with Blessed Louis Joseph.
PIERRE RENE ROGUE
Born in Vannes on June 11, 1758, he was ordained a priest on September 21, 1782. Chaplain for a retreat center for women, he was attracted by the vocation and mission of priests of the Congregation of the Mission, his formators, who ran the major seminary in Vannes. Admitted to the Congregation of the Mission on October 25, 1786, in Paris, he returned to the seminary in Vannes as a professor in dogmatic theology. Expelled under revolutionary laws, Pierre René went into hiding to continue pastoral ministry and help persecuted Catholics in the area. He was arrested on December 24, 1795, as he was bringing communion to a sick person. He was taken to prison that very day and remained there until March 3 of the following year. He was sentenced to death by guillotine. At the end of this iniquitous trial during which his mother was forced to testify, he was taken back to prison where he wrote a final letter to his elderly mother and to his confreres of the local community, telling them that he was going to die for the faith and that, in those moments, he was happy to give his life for Christ. He was executed on March 3, 1796, in the presence of his holy elderly mother.
Pierre René Rogue was beatified on May 10, 1934, by Pius XI.
JEAN CHARLES CARON
He was born in Auchel (Pas-de-Calais) on December 31, 1730. On December 30, 1750, he entered the Congregation of the Mission in which he made vows in 1752.
For twenty-nine years, he dedicated himself to giving missions and then became the parish priest of Collégien in the diocese of Meaux. Like many others, he refused to sign the Civil Constitution of the Clergy during the French Revolution, which meant he was expelled from his parish and had to take refuge in Paris. He died along with the other martyrs of the barbarous massacre of September 2-3, 1792.
Jean Charles Caron was beatified by Pius XI on October 17, 1926.
NICOLAS COLIN
He was born in Grenant (Haut-Marne) on December 12, 1730. He made vows in the Congregation of the Mission in 1749. He would later be appointed vicar in the parish of Saint Louis in Versailles where he worked from 1754 to 1770. He then served as the parish priest in Genevrières in the diocese of Langres. For twenty-two years, he carried out his missionary ministry with a reputation for being a good preacher. The Revolution chased him from his rectory. He was replaced by a priest who accepted the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. He took refuge in Paris where he died during the terrible massacre of September 3, 1792.
Nicolas Colin is known for having said, “…in recompense for my fidelity to the faith, [I will know] hunger, exile, prison and perhaps even death.”
He was beatified by Pius XI on October 17, 1926.
(Liturgical feast September 2)
