September 2 | The Holy September Martyrs

Welcome, young history buffs and curious minds, to My Daily Saint, the podcast that digs deep into the incredible lives of the saints, those remarkable people who shaped history and continue to inspire us today. Forget dusty old portraits and boring stories. Today, we are heading to one of the most chaotic, dangerous, and blood-soaked periods in human history.

Imagine this. The cobblestone streets of Paris are filled with angry mobs. The year is 1792. The air is thick with tension, echoing with shouts of rebellion, and the smell of smoke hangs heavy over the city. The government has been overthrown, and radical revolutionaries are taking control of absolutely everything. Anyone who dares to get in their way will be killed. or even disagree with them, is in danger of being dragged from their homes and thrown into dark, damp prisons. It's the height of the French Revolution.

Now, close your eyes and imagine you are trapped in one of those terrifying prison cells. The stone walls are freezing. You haven't committed a real crime. You haven't stolen anything, you haven't hurt anyone, and you aren't a threat to the peace. Your only crime is that you love God, and you refuse to let a newly formed, power-hungry government control your faith. Today, we are going to talk about the first thing that we have to get to, and that is We aren't just talking about one single hero.

We are talking about an entire army of them. 191 incredible, unyielding Christians, to be exact. Together, they are known as the Holy September Martyrs. So, how did these 119 Christians end up in such a terrifying situation? What exactly happened?

Well, the revolutionaries who took charge of France decided that they didn't just want political power. They wanted total, absolute control over every aspect of life, including religion. To get it, they passed a new law. This wasn't just any ordinary law about taxes or property. It was a strict civil act specifically designed to place Catholic priests directly under the authority of the state. Basically, the government was demanding that the church bow down to them instead of to God. They gave all the priests and religious leaders a terrifying ultimatum.

Take an oath of loyalty to our new state rules, or face the consequences. Imagine the immense pressure these men were under. Taking the oath would have been the easy way out. Just say a few words, sign your name on a piece of paper, and you get to walk out of that dark prison. You would get to live. But they knew that taking this state-mandated oath meant turning their backs on their true faith and surrendering their deeply held beliefs to a government that was trying to erase the church's independence.

Every single one of them looked the different Dangerous revolutionaries in the eye, and essentially said, no, my faith is not for sale, and my beliefs are not controlled by the state. Because of this incredibly brave refusal, these 191 Christians were locked away in prison. And then, over the span of just two horrifying days, these brave men were brutally massacred by the revolutionaries. It is hard to even comprehend the level of courage it took to stand firm during those two terrifying days, knowing perfectly well that sticking to their beliefs What would ultimately cost them their lives?

Among the martyrs were two brothers, Louis and Francis de la Rochefoucauld, who served as the bishops of Sainte and Beauvais, respectively. There was Apollinaris of Possat, John Francis Bertet, Charles de la Calmette, and Augustin Ambro-Chevreux. We also remember and honor André Grasset de Saint-Salveur, John-Marie de Leblot, Séverine Girald, Julian Massey and Louis Barral de la Touche. All 191 of them were officially beatified on October 17, 1926, by Pope Pius XI. And much more recently, one of these brave martyrs, Salomone le Clerc, was canonized a saint by Pope Francis in 2016.

You probably aren't facing a revolutionary government demanding you take a life-or-death oath. But you do face different kinds of pressure every single day. Maybe it's pressure on social media to hide your true beliefs, or to do something you know is wrong, just so you can fit in with a popular crowd. The September Martyrs teach us that true strength isn't about physical muscles. It's about standing firm in what you know is right. Even when it is incredibly unpopular. Be brave, be bold, and let your internal faith and morals guide your choices, not the intense pressure of the world around you. Thank you for joining us on My Daily Saint. We look forward to sharing another incredible story of faith and courage with you tomorrow.