MARTYRS OF CASAMARI

MARTYRS OF CASAMARI - 16 MAY

MARTYRS OF CASAMARI

These holy Cistercian monks were martyred for protecting the Holy Eucharist.

"In his Regina Caeli address Sunday [April 18, 2021] Pope Francis applauded the beatification of six Cistercian monks who were martyred while trying to protect the Eucharist from desecration by French soldiers in 1799.

Blessed Siméon Cardon and five other Cistercian monks were beatified on April 17 [2021] in the Italian abbey where they were martyred more than 200 years ago.

"MAY THEIR EXAMPLE SPUR US TO A GREATER COMMITMENT OF FIDELITY TO GOD"

Speaking from the window of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace for the first time in weeks, Pope Francis asked the pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square on April 18 to applaud “the new Blesseds”.

“In 1799, when French soldiers, in retreat from Naples, sacked churches and monasteries, these meek disciples of Christ resisted with heroic courage, unto death, to defend the Eucharist from desecration,” the pope said. “May their example spur us to a greater commitment of fidelity to God, capable of transforming society and making it more just and fraternal.”

Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, presided over the beatification of the six Cistercian monks in Casamari Abbey in Frosinone, Italy. Four of the martyred monks - Siméon Cardon, Modeste-Marie Burgen, Maturin Pitré and Albertin Marie Maisonade - were French and had previously fled the violence of the French Revolution.

THEY TRIED TO SAVE THE CONSECRATED HOSTS

The French army, which had occupied Naples, had sacked the Benedictine monastery of Monte Cassino and other churches and monasteries while on retreat northward. While most of the Cistercians of Casamari Abbey escaped amid chaos of the looting, six monks remained to try to save the consecrated hosts in the tabernacle from desecration and were killed by the soldiers.

BROTHERS AND SISTERS

In the pope’s Regina Caeli address, he said that “the Eucharistic banquet” is the focal point of Christian community. “Eating together the Body of Christ: this is the core of Christian life,” Pope Francis said. “Being Christian is not first of all a doctrine or a moral ideal; it is a living relationship with Him, with the Risen Lord: we look at him, we touch him, we are nourished by Him and, transformed by his Love, we look at, touch and nourish others as brothers and sisters,” he said.

Sources: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247313/pope-francis-applauds-beatification-of-monks-who-died-protecting-the-eucharist - Image c/o https://www.chiesadimilano.it/news/chiesa-diocesi/un-milanese-tra-i-sei-beati-martiri-cistercensi-di-casamari-451797.html

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