Anatole de Bengy (born 19 September 1824, executed at the court of the Cité

Vincennes Vincennes (, ) is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is next to but does not include the Château de Vincennes and Bois de Vincennes, which are attached ...

, Rue Haxo,

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

26 May 1871) was one of the five

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

martyrs of the Paris Commune, along with

Pierre Olivaint Pierre Olivaint (1816–1871) was a French Jesuit who was killed by the Paris Commune. Early life Pierre Olivaint was born in 1816 of parents who were not religious. At twenty, he left home, and the College of Charlemagne, where he had studied, ...

Biography

De Bengy spent nine years in residence at the Jesuit College of

Brugelette Brugelette (; pcd, Brujlete; wa, Brudjlete) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. On January 1, 2006, Brugelette had a total population of 3,284. The total area is which gives a population density of . The ...

, and in 1834 entered the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

. During the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

he served as chaplain to the French soldiery and thereafter until 1870 devoted his life to college work. When the Franco-Prussian War broke out, he again sought and obtained the post of chaplain. He rendered service to the poor, sick and wounded during the siege of Paris. After the war he retired to the school of Sainte-Geneviève to resume his work as professor. At midnight, 3 April, a battalion or National Guards surrounded the school and placed all the Jesuit inmates under arrest as hostages of the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended ...

. De Bengy cheered up his companions during the dark days of anticipated death. On Friday, 26 May, with two Jesuit companions and some forty other victims, he was led to the court of the Cité Vincennes, Rue Haxo, where he was executed. His remains were placed in a chapel in the .

References

1824 births 1871 deaths 19th-century French Jesuits Jesuit martyrs {{France-RC-clergy-stub