Noël Pinot (9 December 1747 – 21 February 1794) was a French refractory priest who was guillotined during the
War in the Vendée
The War in the Vendée () was a counter-revolutionary insurrection that took place in the Vendée region of French First Republic, France from 1793 to 1796, during the French Revolution. The Vendée is a coastal region, located immediately so ...
. He was
beatified
Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the ...
by 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 ...
and considered a
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 ...
.
Biography
Born in
Angers
Angers (, , ;) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Duchy of Anjou, Anjou until the French Revolution. The i ...
on 9 December 1747, the last of sixteen children to a weaver, he lost his father when he was eight years old. He entered the
seminary
A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...
in Angers. He was
ordained
Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...
a priest on 22 December 1770.
He was first appointed
vicar
A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...
in Bousse in 1772 and then chaplain at Angers in August 1781. In September 1789, he became
pastor
A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...
of
Le Louroux-Béconnais
Le Louroux-Béconnais () is a former commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. On 15 December 2016, it was merged into the new commune Val d'Erdre-Auxence.French Revolution, he refused to take the oath of 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 ...
unlike his superior, Mathurin Garanger who took the oath on 23 January 1791 and was later a member of the
Petite Église
The Petite Église (, "Little Church"; ) was a group of French and Belgian Roman Catholics who separated from the Catholic Church in France following the Concordat of 1801 between Pope Pius VII and Napoleon Bonaparte. They were considered schismat ...
. He was accused by the revolutionary municipality of "engaging in ecclesiastical activities to oppose the law". On 27 February, he was brought before the court.
Denounced, he was arrested on 5 March and sentenced to
exile
Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...
by the District Court. He hid in
Beaupréau
Beaupréau () is a former Communes of France, commune in the Maine-et-Loire Departments of France, department in western France.
On 15 December 2015, Andrezé, Beaupréau, La Chapelle-du-Genêt, Gesté, Jallais, La Jubaudière, Le Pin-en-Mauges, ...
. Returning to Louroux in 1793, during the War of Vendée, he went into hiding after the failure of the royalist insurgents against
Nantes
Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...
.
He was arrested on the night of 8 February 1794 during a clandestine
Mass
Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...
he was celebrating at the farm of Milandrie at Louroux-Béconnais, where he was hiding. He was taken to Angers, appeared before the '' Commission militaire révolutionnaire'' and was guillotined on 3
Ventôse
Ventôse (; also ''Ventose'') was the sixth month in the French Republican Calendar. The month was named after the Latin word ''ventosus'' 'windy'.
Ventôse was the third month of the winter quarter (''mois d'hiver''). It started between 19 an ...
vestments
Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religion, especially by Eastern Churches, Catholics (of all rites), Lutherans, and Anglicans. Many other groups also make use of liturgical garments; amo ...
he was wearing at the time of his arrest. As he mounted the scaffold, he began reciting the opening prayers of the Mass, including ''Introibo ad altare Dei'' (from
Psalm 42
Psalm 42 is the 42nd psalm of the Book of Psalms, often known in English by its incipit, "As the hart panteth after the water brooks" (in the King James Version). The Book of Psalms is part of the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and a boo ...
). A statue at the Cathedral of Angers represents the first step of climbing the "altar of God".
Bishop of Angers
The Diocese of Angers (Latin: ''Dioecesis Andegavensis''; French: ''Diocèse d'Angers'') is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The episcopal see is located in Angers Cathedral in the city of Angers. The diocese extends ov ...
recommended Father Brouillet to the commission to "proceed with the canonical investigation into the life and virtues of the priest".
He was beatified by
Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005.
In his you ...
on 19 February 1984. His feast day is celebrated on 21 February.
See also
*
Persecution of Catholics
Anti-Catholicism is hostility towards Catholics and opposition to the Catholic Church, its clergy, and its adherents. Scholars have identified four categories of anti-Catholicism: constitutional-national, theological, popular and socio-cul ...
Dechristianization of France during the French Revolution
The aim of several policies conducted by various governments of France during the French Revolution ranged from the appropriation by the government of the great landed estates and the large amounts of money held by the Catholic Church to the te ...