Charles François de Saint Simon Sandricourt,the last Bishop of Agde, was guillotined in Paris on July 26, 1794, one of the last victims of The Terror. Known as a devout, kindly and learned man, he gave away much of his inherited wealth to the poor.
There are very few monuments to mark the murder of the Catholic hierarchy during The Terror. Bishop Saint-Simon is remembered in the name of a narrow street a few steps away from the Cathedral in Agde, and by a small plaque in an innocuous place beneath the former Bishop's palace by the waterfront (now a parking lot next to the Herault).
France is a highly secularised country, where the main discussion of religion involves the banning of burkas and programmes about the Inquisition on the liberal ARTE channel which underline the "obvious evil" of religion. Amidst this whitewash, people forget their actual history - the revolution and the hatred that fueled it, the reforms and forced vows, the denunciations, the stripping of the churches -- at their peril. Charles François de Saint Simon Sandricourt pray for your people, pray for us!
Do we know each other in real life? If so, we will have to form the 'Guild of Bloggers who don't talk about it.'
ReplyDeleteHope you are having a good time en France.
You've rumbled me!
ReplyDeleteWe're having a lovely time, thanks - and have discovered a great new (to us) EF parish - details to be blogged as soon as time permits...
re: the 'Guild of Bloggers who don't talk about it.'
...I think we've just formed it ;-)