MARTYRS OF VALSERY ABBEY - 30 SEPTEMBER

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN SEPTEMBER

Saints celebrated on the 30th of September

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.

THE BLESSED MARTYRS OF VALSERY ABBEY

Valsery Abbey in the department of Aisne in the region of Picardy in northern France belonged to the Premonstratensians, also called the Norbertines after its founder, Saint Norbert of Xanten, or White canons according to the colour of their habit.

After the siege and conquest of the city of Soissons in 1567, the Calvinists also invaded the monastery of Valsery, where William Marie was abbot, and destroyed the buildings. 

Most of the canons were killed and thus received the crown of martyrdom. They are honoured as blessed by the Premonstratensians with Memorial Day on September 30.

The monastery was systematically destroyed during the French Revolution, which tried to eradicate the Catholic Faith. The site was declared a historic monument site in 1986, and since 1996, the abbey remains have belonged to the Association de Restauration de l'Abbaye de Valsery, established on the site. Since 2013, volunteers have been meeting two Saturdays a month to restore the site and organise visits.

(📷 1. The Glorification of St Norbert -Richard van Orley; 2. Restauration work at Valsery Abbey)