Celebrating the centenary of the Beatification of the Martyrs of Orange

16/05/2025

Celebrating the centenary of the Beatification of the Martyrs of Orange

 

On 10 May 1925, Pope Pius XI declared blessed the 32 nuns martyred for their faith in Orange (France) in July 1794.

To celebrate this centenary, the day-long pilgrimage to Bollène and Orange on Sunday 11 May 2025, offered participants an opportunity to follow the holy path of these 18th-century nuns who sacrificed their lives to God at the time of the Terror in 1794.

A new graphic has been created for the occasion. Constance Boissy's watercolour depicts the 32 nuns marching together towards the guillotine, where they were condemned because of their fidelity to Christ. They are accompanied by the prayers of the Church and the blessing of the priests.

 

The Martyrs of Orange, watercolour by Constance Boissy
at the request of the diocese of Avignon for the centenary of the beatification.

 

They lived religious life in various congregations and convents in the region:

  • 16 Ursulines
  • 13 Sacramentine nuns
  • 2 Cistercian (or Bernardine) nuns
  • 1 Benedictine

 

The 16 Ursulines:

Sister Sainte-Mélanie, from the convent of Bollène
(Madeleine de Guilhermier, born in Bollène in 1733) martyred on 9 July

Sister Marie-des-Anges, from the convent of Bollène
(Marie-Anne de Rocher, born in Bollène in 1755), martyred on 9 July

Sister Sainte-Sophie, from the convent of Bollène
(Gertrude d'Alauzier, born in Bollène in 1757) martyred on 10 July

Sister Agnès, from the convent of Bollène 
(Sylvie de Romillon, born in Bollène in 1750), martyred on 10 July

Sister Sainte-Sophie, from the convent of Pont-Saint-Esprit
(Marguerite de Berbegie d'Albarède, born in Saint-Laurent-de-Carnols in 1740), martyred on 11 July

Sister Saint-Bernard, from the convent of Pont-Saint-Esprit
(Jeanne-Marie de Romillon, born in Bollène in 1753), martyred on 12 July

Sister Saint-François, from the convent in Bollène 
(Marie-Anne Lambert, born in Pierrelatte in 1742), martyred on 13 July

Sister Sainte-Françoise, from the convent in Carpentras 
(Marie-Anne Depeyre, born in Tulette in 1756), martyred on 13th July

Sister Saint-Gervais, superior of the convent in Bollène
(Marie-Anastasie de Roquard, born in Bollène in 1749), martyred on 15 July

Sister Saint-Michel, from the convent in Bollène
(Marie-Anne Doux, born in Bollène in 1739), martyred on 16 July

Sister Saint-André, from the convent of Bollène
(Marie-Rose Laye, born in Bollène in 1728), martyred on 16 July

Sister du Coeur de Marie, from the convent of Pernes
(Dorothée de Justamond, born in Bollène in 1743), martyred on 16 July

Sister Saint-Basile, from the convent of Pont-Saint-Esprit
(Anne Cartier, born in Livron in 1733), martyred on 26 July

Sister Catherine de Jésus, from the convent of Pont-Saint-Esprit
(Marie-Madeleine de Justamond, born in Bollène in 1724), martyred on 26 July

Sister Claire, from the convent in Bollène,
(Claire du Bac, born in Laudun in 1727), martyred on 26 July

Sister du Coeur-de-Jésus, from the Ursuline convent of Sisteron
(Elisabeth Consolin, born in Courthézon in 1736) martyred on 26 July

 

More information: https://www.canonisation-32-martyres-orange.fr

Bishop Fonlupt's homily and Cardinal Parolin's message from Pope Francis ►

A medal for the centenary... and beyond ►