BL. PIERRE-ADRIEN TOULORGE, PRIEST AND MARTYR - 13 OCTOBER

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN OCTOBER

Saints celebrated on the 13th of October

Prayer to the Angels and the Saints

Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.

In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.

Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.

Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.

BL. PIERRE-ADRIEN TOULORGE, PRIEST AND MARTYR 

Blessed Pierre-Adrien was born in 1757 at Muneville-le-Bingard, Normandy, France. After his early education he entered the diocesan seminary at Coutances and was then ordained a priest at the age of 25.

He ministered in the parish of Doville, where most of his parishioners lived in poverty. The young priest often spoke of the mercy of God but also of justice for those hardened sinners who refused to change their ways.

During this time Blessed Pierre-Adrien was a frequent visitor to the Norbertine Abbey of Blanchelande (founded in the 12th century), where he became inspired to follow the ideals of St Norbert.

Blessed Pierre-Adrien then entered the Norbertine Order and spent two years at their Abbey at Beauport.

Blessed Pierre-Adrien lived at the height of the persecution unleashed against the Church by the French Revolution. When he heard of the law of August 1792 which condemned to deportation all ecclesiastics who exercised a public office without taking the revolutionary oath, he believed that he should leave and travelled to the island of Jersey.

When the opportunity arose he travelled back to France and hid himself in an area of wild scrub. One year later, in September 1793, Blessed Pierre-Adrien was captured.

He decided to tell the truth - even at the risk of his life -namely that he was being pursued because he was a Catholic priest. Blessed Pierre-Adrien was then sentenced to death.

On the night before the sentence was carried out, Blessed Pierre-Adrien was able to go to confession and write three deeply touching letters to his brother, to a friend, and to an unknown woman - to which he added, ‘I wish you God’s blessing. October 12, 1793, the evening before my martyrdom.’

The next morning was a Sunday and Blessed Pierre-Adrien said his usual prayers with the other prisoners. When he closed his prayer book, in a state of great joy, he cried out to the others, “My dear friends, let us stop here, for I will soon be gratefully singing the end of this hymn in heaven... My dear brothers, I will not forget you; I ask God to watch over you. I am praying for all my benefactors, friends, and even my enemies.”

The other prisoners asked for his blessing and during this blessing the prisoners noticed that a heavenly joy shone from his face.

Blessed Pierre-Adrien was then taken to the guillotine, while the crowd was silent as they beheld this young priest who went to his death filled with such inner peace. Just before his execution Blessed Pierre-Adrien said: “My God, I place my life in Your hands! I pray for the restoration and preservation of Your Holy Church. Forgive my enemies.” After the execution Blessed Pierre-Adrien’s body was taken to the cemetery of St Peter in a cart.

In his farewell letter to his brother Blessed Pierre-Adrien wrote, “Rejoice, for tomorrow you will have another friend in Heaven watching over you. Rejoice that God has deemed me fit to suffer not only prison, but even death for Our Lord Jesus Christ; it is the greatest grace He could possibly give me. We should not attach ourselves to perishable things. Turn therefore your gaze towards Heaven; live life as an honest man, and most importantly, as a good Christian.”

(From Spiritual Thought from Fr Chris - 📷 Bl. Pierre-Adrien, source: https://www.wikimanche.fr/Pierre-Adrien_Toulorge )