SEPTEMBER MARTYRS, BLESSED. — This is the designation given to the group of 191 martyrs, led by the Archbishop of Arles, GIOVANNI MARIA DI LAU, and the Bishops of Beauvais, FRANCESCO GIUSEPPE DE LA ROCHEFUCAULT-BAYERS (v.) and PIETRO LUIGI DE LA ROCHEFUCAULT, who were killed for the faith in the prisons of Paris on 2 and 3 September 1792 and beatified by Pius XI on 17 October 1926.
After the throne was overthrown by the assassination of Louis XVI (10 August 1792) and the “Insurrectional Commune” was established on the same day, the fury of the revolutionaries led to the arrest of numerous laypeople and especially members of the clergy who had refused to take the oath imposed by the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, which had been condemned by Pius VI on 10 March 1791. The blessed, having been taken prisoner, were confined in the convents of the Carmelites, in the Seminary of Saint-Firmin, in the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, and in the La Force prison. On the afternoon of 2 September and during the night of 3 September, they were all slaughtered in various ways: 95 in the Carmelite convent, 72 at Saint-Firmin, 21 at Saint-Germain, and 3 at La Force. At Saint-Firmin, some were thrown from the windows and left to the cruel rage of the mob, drenched in blood. Besides the three bishops, the group of 191 includes many priests, many religious, and four laypeople. In the prisons, scenes reminiscent of the catacombs were repeated. Unable to celebrate Mass, they united in spirit with that celebrated by the Pope in Rome, devoted themselves to prayer and pious readings, and at the supreme moment absolved one another and recited the litanies and prayers for the dying.