Pierre-Adrien Toulorge (4 May 1757 - 13 October 1793) was a
French Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
and a professed member of the
Premonstratensians
The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular of the Catholic Church ...
and was killed during the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
- he also remained in hiding for most of the revolution and celebrated secret
Masses and administered the sacraments in secret.
Toulorge was beatified on 29 April 2012 after
Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...
confirmed that the late priest was killed "in odium fidei" ('in hatred of the faith'). Cardinal
Angelo Amato
Angelo Amato, S.D.B. (born 8 June 1938) is an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints between 2008 and 2018. He served as Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of t ...
presided over the celebration on the pope's behalf in the
Coutances Cathedral
Coutances Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Coutances) is a Gothic Catholic cathedral constructed from 1210 to 1274 in the town of Coutances, Normandy, France. It incorporated the remains of an earlier Norman cathedral.
It is the s ...
.
Life
Childhood and priesthood
Pierre-Adrien Toulorge was born in the
Kingdom of France
The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. ...
on 4 May 1757 as the third child to Julien Toulorge and Julienne Hamel; his parents married on 9 November 1747. He was
baptized
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...
mere hours after his birth by the parish curate Le Royer.
[ He had at least one brother and one sister. His mother died on 8 May 1757 (and was buried in a church the next day) and in 1861 his father remarried to the widowed Marie Duprey.][ His father died on 31 March 1782.
The assistant parish priest noticed his aspirations to enter the priesthood and took Toulorge under his wing and instructed him in ]Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
. He was later sent to school for his initial education. Toulorge was admitted to his studies for the priesthood - that the Eudists
The Congregation of Jesus and Mary (), abbreviated CIM also known as the Eudists (Latin: ''Congregatio Eudistarum''), is a society of apostolic life of Pontifical Right for men in the Catholic Church. It was established in March 25, 1643 by Sain ...
oversaw - where his superior was Jacques-François Lefranc.[ He underwent philosophical studies in 1777 and theological studies from 1778 until 1782. Toulorge received the tonsure and the minor orders on 12 June 1778 while being made a subdeacon on 23 September 1780 and being elevated to the ]diaconate
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...
on 8 May 1871.[ He was ]ordained
Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...
as a priest in June 1782 and was made an assistant curate in Doville
Doville () is a commune in the Manche department in north-western France.
See also
*Communes of the Manche department
The following is a list of the 446 communes of the Manche department of France.
The communes cooperate in the following inte ...
at the beginning of 1783. He often went to the Norbertine convent
A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...
in Blanchelande and asked the prior to be admitted into the Premonstratensians
The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular of the Catholic Church ...
; he commenced his novitiate
The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...
in Beuport and in June 1788 returned to Blanchelande where he made his profession.[
]
The Revolution
In 1790 officials during the French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
suppressed their branch of the order and he left on 11 October to live in a neighboring farm belonging to the Le Sens in La Cour La Cour is a French-language surname meaning "the court". People with this surname include:
*Ask la Cour, Danish ballet dancer
*Emil La Cour (born 1991), Danish footballer
*Janus la Cour (1837–1909), Danish painter
*Lise la Cour (1944–2016), Dan ...
until 1791.[ But he made a grave error in judgment: the banishment law affected him but he nevertheless obtained travelling papers and on 12 September 1791 travelled to the island of ]Jersey
Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...
where he joined over 500 priests from the Coutances
Coutances () is a Communes of France, commune in the Manche Departments of France, department in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy in north-western France.
History
Capital of the Unelli, a Gauls, Gaulish tribe, the town was given the n ...
diocese where he lived a precarious existence of a penniless exile for five weeks. The error in judgment materialized when a confrere pointed out to him that leaving for the island painted him as a traitor to the revolution.[ Upon hearing this he rushed back to the mainland as soon as he could and hoped that his absence would not be noticed - he landed in secret at a beach in ]Cotentin
The Cotentin Peninsula (, ; nrf, Cotentîn ), also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy that forms part of the northwest coast of France. It extends north-westward into the English Channel, towards Great Britain. To its w ...
and went underground from November 1792 until September 1783. He spent three weeks after his immediate return with his pastor cousin Jean-Nicolas Toulorge. He spent that time in hiding from place to place in disguise and he both administered the sacraments in secret and celebrated Mass
Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...
in homes in private.[ Masses were celebrated with makeshift vestments while he copied from the ]Roman Missal
The Roman Missal ( la, Missale Romanum) is the title of several missals used in the celebration of the Roman Rite. Along with other liturgical books of the Roman Rite, the Roman Missal contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of the m ...
in order to celebrate Mass.
Arrest and trial
On the evening of 2 September 1793 - close to the village of Saint-Nicolas-de-Pierrepont - a woman saw a man emerge from a thicket and invited him into her home and lit a fire for him; Toulorge revealed himself to the woman who then revealed herself to be the Benedictine
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
nun
A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...
Sister Saint-Paul and Toulorge accepted her invitation to spend the night at the house.[ The nun - the next morning - led Toulorge out in disguise as a woman to the home of her friend Marotte Fosse thinking he would be much safer there. But workers along the path - seeing an unfamiliar woman - noticed his men's stockings and shoes and so followed the two to Marotte's door and went to inform the authorities. Toulorge rested in the attic of the home when three guards knocked on the door so hard the door itself shook: "Open in the name of the law!" Toulorge froze as a guard bought Fosse from work to open the door.][ The house was ransacked as the priest hid under bundles of flax and he managed to elude ]bayonets
A bayonet (from French ) is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit on the end of the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar firearm, allowing it to be used as a spear-like weapon.Brayley, Martin, ''Bayonets: An Illustra ...
that stabbed the piles. The soldiers were about to leave muttering to themselves when one went back and noticed the priest coming out of his hiding place. Toulorge was arrested on the spot and all he had with him - such as his vestments - were seized.
On 4 September 1793 he was taken to the director of the Carentan district to be put on trial and hid the fact that he had left the mainland in order to avoid the death sentence. Commissioner Le Canut for the prosecution hoped to get Toulorge to contradict himself and asked him: "Have you ever - at this time or at any other - gone to Jersey or to any other foreign land?" to which the priest replied: "No". Le Canut instead fabricated the fact that a priest he interrogated had said he had seen Toulorge on the island which prompted Toulorge to state: "I have never left French soil and if others have told you I have they are either mistaken or crazy. Instead the prosecution showed him the seized objects from the Fosse home and the priest admitted to them belonging to him; the uncertain judges decided to send him to the departmental court in Coutances. In order to save his own life he continued to refuse mentioning that he left the mainland though when he returned to prison he felt a sense of guilt which prompted in him the desire to tell the truth. At dawn on 8 September 1793 he confessed the truth and - despite great exhaustion - appeared on 22 September before an administrative commission where he was interrogated on his trip to the island.[
The priest was then sent to a criminal court that the ]Jacobin
, logo = JacobinVignette03.jpg
, logo_size = 180px
, logo_caption = Seal of the Jacobin Club (1792–1794)
, motto = "Live free or die"(french: Vivre libre ou mourir)
, successor = Pa ...
judge Gilbert-François Loisel presided over and the judge tried to save Toulorge's life after suggesting that the priest retract his confession and allude to mentioning he spent time someplace in France.[ Records of 12 October 1793 - when the death sentence was handed down - described aspects of the trial.][ Toulorge exclaimed "Deo Gratias" when the verdict was handed down and people around him as he was escorted back to prison believe he had been acquitted. When the evening came he dined and then went to make a confession and later wrote three letters - one to his brother.][ He returned to the cell he shared with fellow prisoners when one asked: "So what's the news?" and he said: "Good news - my case was decided in my favor!" leading to his companions believing he was acquitted and would soon be set free. However he was quick to reveal that the death sentence without appeal was the decision made and the happiness turned to sadness as Sister Saint-Paul - who was also arrested around the same time he was - wept which prompted the priest to tell her: "Madame - the tears you are shedding are unworthy of me ... Let us show that faith is victorious over torture and open a path of Heaven amidst the final efforts of hell".][
]
Death
Toulorge asked for his hair to be cut and his beard to be shaved for his execution. He was present with his companions and stopped before the canticle for compline
Compline ( ), also known as Complin, Night Prayer, or the Prayers at the End of the Day, is the final prayer service (or office) of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours, which are prayed at fixed prayer times.
The English wo ...
and said: "Soon I will sing this thanksgiving canticle in Heaven". He blessed his companions when the authorities arrived and he travelled to the guillotine
A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with stocks at th ...
on foot and spoke for the last time: "My God
In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
I place my soul in Your hands. I ask that You reestablish and preserve Your Holy Church. I beg You to forgive my enemies."[ He was executed at 2:00pm and the executioner grabbed the head by the hair and showed it to the crowds. Sister Saint-Paul was acquitted and survived the Terror.
His remains were dumped in a mass grave. His face was uncovered and faced west. He was reburied in 1804.][
He is a relative of Father Adrien Toulorge (1882-1916).][
]
Beatification
The beatification process opened in an informative process in 1922 that halted in 1928 due to interruptions that rendered the cause inactive until he was made a Servant of God
"Servant of God" is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint.
Terminology
The expression "servant of God" appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in th ...
under Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
on 24 April 1995 when the Congregation for the Causes of Saints
In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, pa ...
gave the "nihil obstat
''Nihil obstat'' (Latin for "nothing hinders" or "nothing stands in the way") is a declaration of no objection that warrants censoring of a book, e.g., Catholic published books, to an initiative, or an appointment.
Publishing
The phrase ''ni ...
" ('nothing against') to the cause; the diocesan process spanned from 1 December 1995 until 29 July 1996 and received C.C.S. validation on 8 May 1998.
The Positio
In the Catholic Church, a ''positio'' (''Positio super Virtutibus'') is a document or collection of documents used in the process by which a person is declared Venerable, the second of the four steps on the path to canonization as a saint.
Des ...
dossier was sent to the C.C.S. in Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
in 1999 and a board of historians met and approved the cause on 5 December 2000 while deeming no historical obstacles existed in opposition to the cause; theologians voiced their approval on 13 July 2010 while the C.C.S. also voted in favor of the cause on 1 March 2011. Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...
confirmed that Toulorge died in hatred of his faith on 2 April 2011 which would pave the path for his beatification.
Cardinal Angelo Amato
Angelo Amato, S.D.B. (born 8 June 1938) is an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints between 2008 and 2018. He served as Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of t ...
presided over the beatification on the behalf of Benedict XVI on 29 April 2012 in the Coutances Cathedral
Coutances Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Coutances) is a Gothic Catholic cathedral constructed from 1210 to 1274 in the town of Coutances, Normandy, France. It incorporated the remains of an earlier Norman cathedral.
It is the s ...
.
The current postulator
A postulator is the person who guides a cause for beatification or canonization through the judicial processes required by the Roman Catholic Church. The qualifications, role and function of the postulator are spelled out in the ''Norms to be Obse ...
for this cause is the Rev. Gabriel Wolf.
References
External links
Hagiography Circle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toulorge, Pierre-Adrien
1757 births
1793 deaths
18th-century venerated Christians
18th-century French Roman Catholic priests
French clergy killed in the French Revolution
Beatifications by Pope Benedict XVI
French beatified people
French people executed by guillotine during the French Revolution
People from Manche
People executed for treason against France
Premonstratensians
Venerated Catholics