Catholic Church: Target of French Revolutionaries
From the New World to the Old World
The Revolutionaries Persecute the Church
In the early years of Fr. André's priesthood, the winds of revolution had already begun to swirl and what began in Paris soon began to spread throughout France.
Swear Allegiance to the Church or the State
When faced with the choice to take the revolutionary oath or not, Fr. André refused. He then, in early 1792, joined sixty other priests in the Paris residence of the Eudist fathers. This was no hiding place. Instead, the priests had gathered together for support, prayer, and reflection.
Willing to Die for the Church
Along with over ninety-two other priests and at least three bishops, Fr. André was taken captive and imprisoned in a Carmelite convent which had been converted to a jail.
After a priest refused, he was shoved down a small staircase to the garden where a bloodthirsty mob murdered each priest with knives, swords, and pikes. Their bodies were then thrown in the well or in ditches near to the convent. Because Fr. André could not go against his conscience, he, too, was killed. It is estimated that he was one of around 190 clergy who were martyred that day.
In 1926, Pope Pius XI beatified these September 1792 martyrs including Fr. André Grasset of Montreal.
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Feast Day: September 2 (Memorial)