Carmel and martyrdom

On this St Stephen’s Day, my thoughts turn to our Carmelite Martyrs.  I wrote recently about the sixteen Compiegne Sisters, martyrs of the French Revolution, canonised earlier in December, but there are others.  More recently Carmelite nuns Blessed Maria Pilar, Teresa of the Child Jesus, and Maria Angeles were shot by the anti-Franco forces in Spain in 1936.  In World War II the Dutch O Carm Titus Brandsma was killed by the German National Socialist regime.  And I have been reading about Pere Jacques (Louis Bunel, 1900-1945), headmaster of a Carmelite School in France, who was arrested by the German Occupying forces for having sheltered Jewish children in his school and for his involvement with the French Resistance.  In 1987 film the celebrated director Louis Malle produced a film called Au Revoir les Enfants which told the story of this.  Louis Malle was himself a pupil of the school at the time of the events.  The film was widely praised and received many accolades.  Pere Jacques actually survived the War in prison, but died from his maltreatment shortly after the Liberation.

Intercessions:

Cancer – Marie, Agnes, Philippa, Bernard

Multiple afflictions – Rosemarie

Sick infants – Elara, Siena