The Martyrs of Compiègne were the 16 members of the Carmel of Compiègne, France: 11

Discalced Carmelite The Discalced Carmelites, known officially as the Order of the Discalced Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel () or the Order of Discalced Carmelites (; abbrev.: OCD; sometimes called in earlier times, ), is a Catholic mendicant ...

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

s, three lay sisters, and two externs (or tertiaries). They were executed by the

guillotine A guillotine ( ) is an apparatus designed for effectively carrying out executions by Decapitation, beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secur ...

towards the end of the

Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (French: ''La Terreur'', literally "The Terror") was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the French First Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and Capital punishment in France, nu ...

, at what is now the Place de la Nation in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

on 17 July 1794, and are venerated as

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

saints In Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Anglican, Oriental Orth ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. Ten days after their execution,

Maximilien Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; ; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman, widely recognised as one of the most influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. Robespierre ferv ...

himself was executed, ending the Reign of Terror. Their story has inspired a novella, a motion picture, a television movie, and an opera, ''

Dialogues of the Carmelites ' (, ''Dialogues of the Carmelites''), FP 159, is an opera in three acts, divided into twelve scenes with linking orchestral interludes, with music and libretto by Francis Poulenc, completed in 1956. Poulenc wrote the libretto for his second ...

,'' written by French composer

Francis Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include mélodie, songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among th ...

History

The number of Christian martyrs increased greatly in the early years of the French Revolution. Thousands of Christians died by the

or as the result of mass deportations, drownings, imprisonment, shootings, mob violence, and "sheer butchery".Bush, p. 1 In 1790, the French Revolutionary government passed the

Civil Constitution of the Clergy The Civil Constitution of the Clergy () was a law passed on 12 July 1790 during the French Revolution, that sought the Caesaropapism, complete control over the Catholic Church in France by the National Constituent Assembly (France), French gove ...

, which outlawed religious life. The community of

Carmelite The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

sisters at

Compiègne Compiègne (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Oise Departments of France, department of northern France. It is located on the river Oise (river), Oise, and its inhabitants are called ''Compiégnois'' (). Administration Compiègne is t ...

, a commune 72 km north of

, was founded in 1641, a daughter house of the monastery in

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...

. The community grew rapidly and "was renowned for its fervor and fidelity". It was supported by the French court. Shortly after

Bastille Day Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. It is referred to, both legally and commonly, as () in French, though ''la fête nationale'' is also u ...

, on 4 August 1790, government officials, with armed guards, interviewed each sister at their convent in Compiègne and forced them to choose between breaking their vows or risking further punishment. They all refused to abandon their lives of obedience, chastity, and poverty.Bush, p. 83 They were allowed to remain at the convent and were deemed wards of the state, which entitled them to receive government pensions. The revolutionary government, at the end of 1791, required all clergy to swear a civic oath supporting the Civil Constitution or risk losing their pensions. At Easter 1792, the government plundered churches and interrupted services. Mother Teresa of St. Augustine, the convent's prioress, suggested to the community that they commit themselves to execution and offer themselves as a sacrifice for France and for the French Church. In August 1792, the government ordered all women's monasteries closed; the seizure and removal of the Compiègne convent's furnishings occurred on 12 September, and the sisters were forced to leave the convent and re-enter the world on 14 September, the end of their cloistered community. Mother Teresa made arrangements for the 20 sisters living in the convent at the time to hide in the city in four separate apartments and find civilian clothes for them to wear, since the wearing of

habits A habit (or wont, as a humorous and formal term) is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously. A 1903 paper in the ''American Journal of Psychology'' defined a "habit, from the standpoint of psychology, They were dependent on the charity of friends, and "courageously continued to practice community prayer", despite the government's orders. In 1794, after the Terror began, the government searched the sisters' apartments for two days; they found letters revealing their "crimes" against the Revolution, which included hostility to the Revolution, strong sympathies to the monarchy, and evidence that they continued to live as a community of consecrated Christian women.Bush, p. 165 They also found two letters written by "the unfortunate" Mulot de la Ménardière to his cousin, Sister Euphrasia of the Immaculate Conception, containing unfavorable criticisms of the Revolution. Mulot was accused of helping them and of being a non-juring priest, even though he was married, and was arrested and imprisoned with the sisters. On 22 June, the sisters and Mulot were arrested and locked up in the former convent of the Visitation, an improvised jail for political prisoners in Compiègne. On 10 July 1794, they were transferred to the Conciergerie Prison in Paris to await trial. The sisters recanted their civic oath while in prison. During their trial on 17 July 1794, in which they received no legal counsel, Sister Mary-Henrietta tried to force the prosecutor to define the word "fanatic", one of the charges against them. She pretended she did not know what the word meant, thus getting him to admit their fanaticism was due to their religion, which made them "criminals and annihilators of public freedom".Bush, p. 63 Mother Teresa claimed full responsibility for the charges of being counter-revolutionaries and religious fanatics, and defended and insisted on the others' innocence. All 16 sisters, along with Mulot, were sentenced to death. At one point, while waiting for the transportation from the Conciergerie to the site of their executions, one of the nuns, Sister St. Louis, after consulting with Mother Teresa, bartered a fur wrap she owned for a cup of chocolate for the sisters to drink from to give them strength after not being able to eat anything all day. There were 26 nights between their arrest and execution.

Execution

On the night of 17 July 1794, the sisters were transported through the streets of Paris in an open cart, a journey that took two hours. During that time, they sang "hymns of praise," including the '' Miserere'', the ''Salve Regina">Miserere (Allegri)">Miserere'', the ''Salve Regina'', the evening vespers">Salve_Regina.html" ;"title="Miserere (Allegri)">Miserere'', the ''Salve Regina">Miserere (Allegri)">Miserere'', the ''Salve Regina'', the evening vespers, and the Compline. Other sources state that they sang a combination of the Office of the Dead, the vespers, the Compline, and other shorter texts. Onlookers berated them, yelling insults and throwing things at them. While waiting to be executed, a sympathetic woman from the crowd offered the sisters water, but Sister Mary-Henrietta stopped one sister from accepting, insisting that it would break their unity and promising that they would drink when they were in heaven. A crowd gathered, as usual, at the Place du Trône Renversé (now called Place de la Nation), the site of the executions, to watch, but the sisters showed no fear and forgave their guards. The final song the sisters sang was Psalm 116, ''Laudate Dominum''. Sister Constance, a

novice A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession with no prior experience. Religion Buddhism ...

, the youngest of the group, was the first to die; she "spontaneously"Bush, p. 15 began the chant, but it was cut short by the guillotine blade. Each sister joined her and was silenced in the same way. Before their execution they knelt and chanted the " Veni Creator" as a profession and then renewed their baptismal and religious vows out loud. According to scholar John Wainewright, "absolute silence prevailed the whole time that the executions were proceeding". Sister Charlotte, who at 78 years of age was the oldest sister, walked with a crutch and was unable to stand up and get out of the cart because her hands were tied and the other sisters were unable to help her. Eventually a guard gathered her up in his arms and threw her on the street; she lay face down on the pavement stones, with no signs of life as the crowd protested against the guard's treatment of her. She stirred, lifted up her blood-smeared face, and warmly thanked the guard for not killing her, "thereby depriving her of her share in her community's glorious witness for Jesus Christ".Bush, p. 77 Sister Mary-Henrietta stood by her prioress until it was her turn to die, helping the 14 other sisters climb the scaffold steps before climbing them herself, and was the second-to-last to die. Mother Teresa died last. There are no surviving relics of the Martyrs of Compiègne because their heads and bodies were buried, along with 128 other victims executed that day, in a deep, 30-feet square sand-pit in the

Picpus Cemetery Picpus Cemetery (, ) is the largest private cemetery in Paris, France, and is located in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, 12th arrondissement. It was created from land seized from the Coignard, convent of the Chanoinesses de St-Augustin, during ...

. Five secondary relics, however, are in the possession of the

Benedictines The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly Christian mysticism, contemplative Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), order of the Catholic Church for men and f ...

in Stanbrook Abbey in Worcestershire. Their burial site, located in the back of the cemetery, is marked with two large, gravel-covered quadrangles. The heads and torsos of the 1,306 people who were guillotined at the Place de la Nation between 13 June and 27 July 1794 are buried there. Their names, including the 16 Martyrs of Compiègne as well as Mulot de la Ménardière, are inscribed on marble plaques covering the walls of a nearby church, where prayer is offered continuously.Bush, p. 79 On the day the sisters were killed there were 24 other victims.

Veneration

The Martyrs of Compiègne were beatified on 27 May 1906. They were the first martyrs of the French Revolution to be recognized by the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

. Their feast day is 17 July. There were four miracles proven during the process of beatification: the cure from cancer in June 1897 of a Carmelite lay sister from New Orleans, at point of death; the cure of an abbé at the seminary in Brive, also at the point of death, in March 1897; the cure of a Carmelite lay sister in Vansy, of tuberculosis and an abscess in her right leg, in December 1897; and the cure of a Franciscan sister from

Montmorillon Montmorillon () is a commune in central-western France, in the Vienne department of which it is a sub-prefecture, in Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Its inhabitants are called ''Montmorillonnaises'' ''and Montmorillonnais''. Montmorillon is a Book town a ...

in April 1898. On 22 February 2022, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Beauvais announced that

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

had accepted the procedure of equipollent canonization for the Martyrs of Compiègne, which would allow them to be

canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of sa ...

as saints without having a miracle attributed to their intercession recognized. All sixteen sisters were recognised as saints of the Church on 18 December 2024 by Pope Francis via equipollent canonization as expected.

Legacy

Ten days after the sixteen were executed,

was executed, ending the Reign of Terror. French Catholics of the time believed that the public executions of the nuns "helped bring about the end to the horrors of the revolution" and hastened the end of the Reign of Terror. Three of the sisters were away from the community at the time of the arrests and so escaped execution. One of them, Marie de l'Incarnation (Françoise Geneviève Philippe), wrote an account of the execution, ''History of the Carmelite nuns of Compiègne'', which was published in 1836. The story of the Martyrs of Compiègne has inspired a

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most novelettes and short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) ...

, an unproduced film, a play, and an

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

. In 1931, the German writer

Gertrud von Le Fort Baroness Gertrud von Le Fort (born Gertrud Auguste Lina Elsbeth Mathilde Petrea Freiin von Le Fort; 11 October 1876 – 1 November 1971) was a German writer. Life Le Fort was born in Minden, in the former Province of Westphalia, then the Kin ...

drew on the ''History'' for a novella called ''Die Letzte am Schafott'' ('' The Last at the Scaffold''), centered on a fictional character named Blanche de la Force, notable for her timidity, who abandons herself to fear and is rewarded with the grace that allows her to emerge from the crowd of spectators to join the other sisters on the scaffold "without trembling, jubilantly". Her work appeared in an English translation as ''The Song of the Scaffold'' in 1933. Emmet Lavery used Le Fort's novella as the basis for his 1949 play, titled ''The Song at the Scaffold''. Raymond-Leopold Bruckberger, a French Dominican, and

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

Philippe Agostini Philippe Agostini was a French cinematographer, director and screenwriter born 11 August 1910 in Paris (France), died 20 October 2001. He was married to Odette Joyeux until the end of her life. Biography Founder of École Louis-Lumière (sit ...

developed a film project based on Le Fort's novella. Though their project never made it into production, they made an important contribution to the legacy of the Carmelites of Compiegne in 1947 when they persuaded

Georges Bernanos Louis Émile Clément Georges Bernanos (; 20 February 1888 – 5 July 1948) was a French author, and a soldier in World War I. A Catholic with monarchist leanings, he was critical of elitist thought and was opposed to what he identified as d ...

to write its dialogue. With the film abandoned, Bernanos' dialogue became a stage drama. It premiered in 1951 in Zurich as ''Dialogues des carmélites'' and ran for 300 performances the following year. Bruckberger and Agostini eventually resurrected their film project and used Bernanos' text as the basis for the French film '' Le Dialogue des Carmélites'', written and directed by Agostini and released in 1960. James Travers and Willems Henri wrote that "despite its starry cast and needlessly showy production values" the film has "stood the test of time and deserves to be more widely known". They also said that the film "more than does justice to Georges Bernanos' play and provides a thoughtful and emotionally involving reflection on the power and limits of faith". The cast included well-known French actors:

Pierre Brasseur Pierre Brasseur (; 22 December 1905 – 16 August 1972), born Pierre-Albert Espinasse, was a French actor. Biography The son of actors Georges Espinasse and Germaine Brasseur was an actor as well. The family tradition of using the name ''Br ...

Jeanne Moreau Jeanne Moreau (; 23 January 1928 – 31 July 2017) was a French actress, singer, screenwriter, director, and socialite. She made her theatrical debut in 1947, and established herself as one of the leading actresses of the Comédie-Française. Mo ...

, Madeline Renaud,

Alida Valli Baroness Alida Maria Laura Altenburger von Marckenstein-Frauenberg (31 May 1921 – 22 April 2006), better known by her stage name Alida Valli, or simply Valli, was an Italian actress who appeared in more than 100 films in a 70-year career, span ...

, Georges Wilson, and

Jean-Louis Barrault Jean-Louis Bernard Barrault (; 8 September 1910 – 22 January 1994) was a French actor, director and mime artist who worked on both screen and stage. Biography Barrault was born in Le Vésinet in France in 1910. His father was 'a Burgundi ...

.In 1984, another version adapted from Bernanos was directed by Pierre Cardinal for a French television. This included more of Bernanos' dialogue than the 1960 film and featured Bernanos' granddaughter Anne Caudry in the cast. French composer

was commissioned to write a ballet based on Bernanos' dialogue for

La Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...

and

Casa Ricordi Casa Ricordi is a publisher of primarily European classical music, classical music and opera. Its classical repertoire represents one of the important sources in the world through its publishing of the work of the major 19th-century Italian com ...

, but instead wrote an opera titled ''

''. As of 2019, the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...

had performed the opera 59 times, first in English, then in its original French, since 1977.

List of the martyrs

The Martyrs of Compiègne consisted of 11 nuns, three lay sisters, and two externs (or tertiaries). ;Choir Nuns * Mother Teresa of St. Augustine,

prior The term prior may refer to: * Prior (ecclesiastical), the head of a priory (monastery) * Prior convictions, the life history and previous convictions of a suspect or defendant in a criminal case * Prior probability, in Bayesian statistics * Prio ...

ess (Madeleine-Claudine Lidoine). Born in Paris, 22 September 1752. Professed May 1775. She was the only child of an employee of the

Paris Observatory The Paris Observatory (, ), a research institution of the Paris Sciences et Lettres University, is the foremost astronomical observatory of France, and one of the largest astronomical centres in the world. Its historic building is on the Left Ban ...

. According to Bush, "she received every educational advantage available to young ladies of the time". Her artistic and poetic gifts were cultivated; some of her work has been preserved at the Carmels of Compiègne and

Sens Sens () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yonne Departments of France, department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France, 120 km southeast from Paris. Sens is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture and the second la ...

. Her dowry to enter the convent was paid by

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette (; ; Maria Antonia Josefa Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last List of French royal consorts, queen of France before the French Revolution and the establishment of the French First Republic. She was the ...

. She almost escaped execution when she returned to her family's home in Paris to care for her widowed mother who was ill, but she returned to Compiègne on 13 July 1794. * Mother St. Louis, sub-prioress (Marie-Anne, or Antoinette, Brideau). Born in

Belfort Belfort (; archaic , ) is a city in northeastern France, situated approximately from the Swiss border. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Territoire de Belfort. Belfort is from Paris and from Basel. The residents of the city ...

, 7 December 1752. Professed Sept, 1771. Her father was a professional soldier, probably stationed at Compiègne at some point in his career. * Mother Henriette of Jesus, ex-prioress for two terms, elected by the community in 1779 and 1782; novice mistress (Marie-Françoise Gabrielle de Croissy). Born in Paris, 18 June 1745. Professed 22 February 1764, prioress from 1779 to 1785. Mother Henriette was the great-niece of

Jean-Baptiste Colbert Jean-Baptiste Colbert (; 29 August 1619 – 6 September 1683) was a French statesman who served as First Minister of State from 1661 until his death in 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His lasting impact on the organization of the countr ...

, King Louis XIV's minister. She had already spent half her life as a Carmelite at the time of her execution, coming to Compiègne when she was 16. She was refused entrance at first by the prioress at the time because of her youth. She was sent home in Amiens for another year, and finally made her profession in 1764. According to Mother Teresa, Henriette "won all hearts by her natural gentleness and affection, as might a real mother".Bush, p. 56 Like Mother Teresa, Henriette wrote verses and was a talented artist; some of her works have also been preserved at the Carmels of Compiègne and Sens. * Sister Mary of Jesus Crucified (Marie-Anne Piedcourt). Born 1715, professed 1737. While mounting the scaffold she said, "I forgive you as heartily as I wish God to forgive me." * Sister Charlotte of the Resurrection, ex-sub-prioress (1764 and 1778) and

sacristan A sacristan is an officer charged with care of the sacristy, the church, and their contents. In ancient times, many duties of the sacrist were performed by the doorkeepers ( ostiarii), and later by the treasurers and mansionarii. The Decretal ...

(Anne-Marie-Madeleine Thouret). Born in Mouy, 16 September 1715. Professed August 1740. Twice sub-prioress in 1764 and 1778. Sister Charlotte was the oldest sister of the group of martyrs. She "possessed a very lively mind" and was "naturally inclined towards gaiety".Bush, p. 74 She entered the religious life after witnessing a tragedy at one of the balls she attended as a young girl. She nursed other sickly nuns, despite the toll it took on her own body. She was miraculously healed after toxic exposure to paint lead left her seriously cognitively impaired for two years.Bush, p. 76 * Sister Euphrasia of the Immaculate Conception (Marie-Claude Cyprienne). Born in 1736 in Bourth. Professed in 1757; entered Compiègne in 1756, at the age of 20. She was witty, humorous, and "possessed an undeniable exterior charm".Bush, p. 58 Sister Euphrasia wrote priests and others in the religious life for spiritual direction and "left a voluminous correspondence"Bush, p. 60 during her 30 years in the community. Her letters reveal "a strong personality plagued by a certain restlessness, something always potentially problematic in a cloistered community". * Sister Teresa of the Sacred Heart of Mary (Marie-Antoniette Hanisset). Born in

Rheims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

in 1740 or 1742. Professed in 1764. She was the daughter of a

saddle A saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not know ...

maker. She served as the Carmel's interior turn sister, receiving goods for the community from the outside world. * Sister Julie Louise of Jesus,

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died and has usually not remarried. The male form, "widower", is first attested in the 14th century, by the 19th century supplanting "widow" with reference to men. The adjecti ...

(Rose-Chrétien de la Neuville). Born in Loreau (or

Évreux Évreux () is a commune in and the capital of the department of Eure, in the French region of Normandy. History Antiquity In late Antiquity, the town, attested in the fourth century AD, was named '' Mediolanum Aulercorum'', "the central town ...

), in 1741. Probably professed in 1777. She had married a cousin despite her calling to the religious life. After her husband died prematurely, she became so depressed and disconsolate, she went into deep mourning, to the point that her family feared for her sanity. She received help from a cleric associated with her family and recovered with a new sense of her calling. She wrote five stanzas of verse for her and her sisters to recite as they prepared for their deaths. * Sister Teresa of St. Ignatius (Marie-Gabrielle Trézel) Born in Compiègne, 4 April 1743. Professed in 12 December 1771. She was called "a mystic with a sense of the Absolute". * Sister Mary-Henrietta of Providence (Anne Petras). Born in Cajarc, 17 June 1760. Professed in October 1786. Sister Mary-Henrietta, before joining the Carmelite order, was a member of the Sisters of Charity of Nevers. She was afraid "her natural beauty might prove a danger in a congregation where she was constantly exposed to the outside world",Bush, p. 62 so she sought a more cloistered life. She came from a large, pious family; five of her sisters were also nuns in the Nevers order, and two of her brothers were priests. * Sister Constance of St. Denis,

(Marie-Geneviève Meunier). Born in Saint-Denis, 28 May 1765 or 1766. Sister Constance was the youngest member of the community. She was barred from making her final vows as a nun due to the revolutionary laws outlawing it, so she professed them to Mother Teresa before going to her death. When it became obvious to her family that she would not be able to legally profess her vows, they sent her brother to force her to return home. She refused, so he brought in the police, but they were convinced that she was in Compiègne by her own choice and did not force her to leave with her brother. ;Lay Sisters * Sister St. Martha, lay sister (Marie Dufour). Born in

Beaune Beaune (; in Burgundian: ''Beane'') is widely considered to be the wine capital of Burgundy in the Côte d'Or department in eastern France. It is located between Lyon and Dijon. Beaune is one of the key wine centers in France, and a major ...

, 1 October or 2, 1742. Entered the community in 1772. * Sister Mary of the Holy Spirit, lay sister (Angélique Roussel). Born in Fresnes, 4 August 1742. Professed 14 May1769. * Sister St. Francis Xavier (Julie or Juliette Vérolot), lay sister. Born in Laignes or Lignières, 11 January 1764. Professed 12 January 1789. She was illiterate, but she "distinguished herself as much by her youthful zeal and good humor as by her terse expressions of love for Jesus Christ".Bush, p. 66 In the convent, her main task was to care for the older nuns.Bush, p. 67 ;Externs Tertiaries in service of the community since 1772. * Catherine Soiron, born 2 February 1742. * Thérèse Soiron, born in 23 February 1748.

References

; Sources *

External links

Partie du site du Carmel consacrée aux carmélites de Compiègne

: paroisse sur le territoire de laquelle les Carmélites sont inhumées au cimetière de Picpus. {{DEFAULTSORT:Martyrs of Compiegne Discalced Carmelite nuns 1794 events of the French Revolution French nuns executed by guillotine during the French Revolution 18th-century venerated Christians 1794 deaths People from Compiègne Monasteries destroyed during the French Revolution French Roman Catholic saints Carmelite saints Burials at Picpus Cemetery Beatifications by Pope Pius X Canonizations by Pope Francis Massacres of the French Revolution Massacres committed by the French First Republic