^ LIBRIS
ST, BASICS SCHOLASTICATE
;;
EX LIBRIS
ST, BASIL'S SCHOLASTI
No.
V1CTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC AND HER MOTHER
VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
A MARTYR UNDER THE TERROR
BY
MOTHER ST. PATRICK
OF LA RETRAITE DU SACR^-COEUR
WITH FOREWORD BY
THE REV. C. C. MARTINDALE, S.J.
WITH A PORTRAIT
LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO.
39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON
FOURTH AVENUE & 30TH STREET, NEW YORK
BOMBAY, CALCUTTA, AND MADRAS
1920
EX LIB;
ST, BASIL'S SC
Imprimatur*
^ G. A. EP. CLIFTONIEN.
2Oth August, 1920.
FOREWORD.
THERE are those who grow cynical, or
melancholy at the least, at the thought of
lives heroically lived, and then forgotten.
The closer we come to human nature, the
more, I think, we should be struck by its
revelation of a thousand beauties, and
loving, honourable, courageous, truthful
instincts and qualities, issuing often into
action, all of which would normally remain
or quickly would become unknown. Per
haps the best of human history is all between
the printed lines. However, a Catholic
knows well that the " souls of the just are
in the hands of God," that they do not die ;
and their actions, however secret, are never
lost before God. Therefore we, who believe
in Eternity, perceive that nothing is wasted,
and need not repine if what is known to
vi FOREWORD
God be not registered in this world's fading
ink.
However, for our own sakes, we are
grateful when from the dim past some life is
rescued, and set forth for our instruction
and glad admiration.
In her few pages, Mother St. Patrick,
with a beautiful simplicity and reticence,
has offered to us the record of one such life.
It is full of interest, it shows us the tre
mendously strong current of Catholic life
that circulated in that old pre-Revolution
France which we are apt to think so ir
religious. It shows us in particular not
only the fine feeling of one family, and the
splendid Catholic conscience and action of
one group, but the very remarkable organisa
tion of those retreats which we believe to-day
to be of such value for the preservation and
development of Catholic life among our
selves. It also shows that reliance on lay
co-operation in very important departments
of instruction which, once more, we so much
wish to see fostered now.
At the Catholic National Congress of
FOREWORD vii
1920 in Liverpool, priest after priest, prelate
after prelate, insisted on the need of this
lay co-operation, and the formation of a
laity well capable of seconding the clergy in
their all-important work.
But directly, of course, it is on the life of
one girl that Mother St. Patrick fixes our
eyes ; a girl by no means a saint in her
cradle, but a thoroughly difficult character,
and destined to suffer from temptations not
only against her vocation but in it, for she
found it hard to be a nun. However, her
superb courage and simplicity triumphed all
the way through, until the hour came for
her to testify by martyrdom to her faith and
love ; so vivid are the earlier chapters where
the life in the old Breton chateau is de
scribed, that I felt that the harsh and violent
elements, and the high heroic romance which
the Great Revolution would add to her
pages, could scarcely make them more
enthralling.
The recent beatifications have recalled to
us those disastrous, yet triumphant, days ;
the setting of the stage is familiar to us, yet
viii FOREWORD
the details of the drama there enacted
always differ and require relating, and their
spell always binds us ; and above all, it will
still be the psychological interest of this life,
in which the " two wills " almost to the end
were in conflict, which will hold us ; and the
spiritual loveliness of the girl who could so
serenely die, as she had lived, for the love of
Our Lord's Sacred Heart,
C. C. MARTINDALE, S.J.
CONTENTS
CHAP. PAGE
I. EARLY YEARS 1
II. GIRLHOOD . . . . . . .11
III. THE HOUSES OF RETREAT . . . .19
IV. PROBATION 29
V. DESIRE FULFILLED 37
VI. IN GOD'S VINEYARD ..... 43
VII. THE BEGINNING OF SORROWS . . .51
VIII. THE SHADOW DEEPENS 6l
IX. THE CRIMINAL PRISON OF QUIMPER . . 77
X. THE ANGEL OF THE PRISON ... 86
XI. THE OVERFLOWING CHALICE ... 93
XII. THE LAST JOURNEY 101
XIII. MARTYRDOM . . . . . .107
AFTER-WORD . 115
CHAPTER I.
EARLY YEARS.
Prenez garde a ce petit etre :
II est bien grand, il contient Dieu.
—V. HUGO.
IN the old Breton town of Rennes, the
ancient capital of Brittany, was born in 1761
a little girl who was destined to be a fervent
apostle and glorious martyr of the Sacred
Heart. She was of an ancient and illustrious
family. Her father, Count Gilles Conen
de Saint-Luc, was Councillor in the Breton
Parliament and later on was nominated one of
its " Presidents a mortier 'V He had married
in 1758 Francoise Marie du Bot who was
not quite sixteen at the time. She had been
an eagerly coveted heiress, but was still more
richly endowed with rare qualities of mind
1 Moretir : mortar-board worn by these presidents,
1
2 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
and heart. In spite of her extreme youth
she was already wise and holy, and, more
over, possessed of indomitable energy and
virile courage.
The first to brighten with her baby smile
the ancestral dwelling in Henries was the
little Victoire ; but three sisters and two
brothers came in turn to make the old house
re-echo with their young life, and gay child-
laughter.
Victoire is certainly not to be placed in
the category of those who were saints from
the cradle ; she was rather what her elders
would have described as "a troublesome
child". The little girl was passionate and
wilful, and though very intelligent, was at
the same time so thoughtless and giddy that
she seemed utterly devoid of all power of
concentration — neither was obedience one of
her strong points : when an order was not
to her liking it was received with open re
bellion, her flashing eyes betraying the
imperious temper within. Nothing could
daunt her at such moments but the fear of
offending God. Yet, on the other hand.
EARLY YEARS 3
there was something very winning in the
child. Though giddy, she knew how to be
thoughtful for others, and was ever ready
to oblige. Her kind heart and affectionate
disposition made her very lovable. She
had learnt quite early the difficult art of
self-denial and was always the first to deprive
herself of some favourite dish or dainty that
it might be given to the poor — love for whom,
it may be said, was amongst the most marked
of her characteristics. At the same time her
high spirits, sunny playfulness, and gift of
witty repartee made her the very life and joy
of the house. In short, Victoire's nature
was a rich one : much, however, would de
pend upon the manner in which it was culti
vated, for in that soil weeds were as ready to
spring up as flcuvers.
Her young mother was fully aware of her
grave responsibilities and had nothing so
much at heart as the careful bringing up of
her children. She determined to keep their
training and education as much as possible
in her own hands. She was assisted in her
labour of love by her brother-in-law, Canon
i*
4 V1CTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
de Saint-Luc, a priest of remarkable holiness
of life ; he was tenderly attached to all the
members of his brother's family, but Victoire
had always a very special place in his
affection.
Her uncle it was who prepared the little
girl for her first confession when she was six
years old. Young as she was, she realized
the importance of this sacrament, for her
sense of the gravity of sin was already sur
prisingly developed. She would often leave
the confessional bathed in tears, her little
mind firmly made up never to relapse into
the old faults again. Like many older people,
however, she would soon find her strongest
resolutions melt away before the first ardours
of temptation.
On one occasion, when travelling with her
parents, she had received a very special
blessing from a saintly old Jesuit, Pere Corret,
who died some time later in odour of sanctity.
Caressing the child tenderly, he had said to
her in prophetic tones : " Little Victoire, you
will gain the Victoire over all your passions ".
During her fits of naughtiness, she was some-
EARLY YEARS S
times reminded of this prophecy, and it
helped her occasionally to snatch a victory,
but on the whole, the little girl found that
self- conquest was very slow work.
When Victoire was nearly nine her mother
decided to try the effect of convent life on
her unruly and turbulent little daughter. In
those days cloistered nuns sometimes under
took the education of girls. These children
were completely cut off from the world and
its influence, and as a rule left the cloister
only when their training was over. The
Countess felt that she herself was too ab
sorbed in the management of her large
establishment, and in the care of her numer
ous family, to be able to devote the necessary
time and attention to Victoire, who was not
only wilful but idle.
She was accordingly sent to the monastery
of the Visitation in Rennes. Though her
bright, gay humour made her quickly popu
lar, yet her weak points did not long escape
the pitiless eye of youth. English happened
to have much vogue at the time throughout
the fashionable world of France, and after
6 V1CTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
one of Victoire's outbursts of temper, she
was called by her young companions, " Lady
Tempest ". Her " ladyship " was subjected
to much teasing, which if not always flatter
ing to her self-love had at least very whole
some effects.
The trained and experienced eyes of her
mistresses quickly perceived the rich seeds
sown in this somewhat volcanic soil, and
they set to work to foster and develop them.
After six months of school life, Victoire had
improved so much that it was decided she
should make her First Communion.
This prospect filled the little girl with joy,
and awakened all the dormant energy and
generosity in her nature. In preparation
for this great act, she made a supreme effort
to overcome her old faults, and so success
ful was she that not only the nuns but even
her school-fellows were surprised and edified
at the change in her. It was hard to re
cognize in this obedient, industrious, and
fervent child the passionate and capricious
" Lady Tempest " of the preceding year.
The Countess was kept well informed of
EARLY YEARS 7
all that concerned her little daughter, and
she followed from afar the improvement in
Victoire with feelings of the deepest joy and
thankfulness. A letter, which she wrote to
the little girl a few days before her First
Communion, leaves an after- fragrance of the
sweetest maternal love mingled with the
strongest Christian piety. She writes : —
" It was with the greatest joy and consola
tion that I heard, my dear Victoire, you
were going to make your First Communion
on Christmas Day. You will be as happy
as the angels : they see God ; but you will
possess Him in your heart. You know that
for love of you, the Mighty God, the Second
Person of the Blessed Trinity, became a
little child. He was born, not in a mansion
where He would have had every comfort,
but in a stable. How it touches a kind
heart, my dear Victoire, to see the Infant
Jesus poor and trembling with cold ! By
your acts of prompt and perfect obedience,
deep humility and gentleness try and pre
pare a cradle to his liking in your heart.
Often raise your heart to God during the
8 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
day and say : ' Come, Holy Child, and bring
me the graces that will make me pleasing
in Thy sight,' or again, ' Come, Sweet Jesus,
and do Thou Thyself prepare my heart.
Thou knowest that I have nothing, but
Thou art Almighty ; Thou lovest me and
that is enough '.
" The holy nuns and your uncle will teach
you much better than I what you have to
do. My heart is full of joy at the thought
of the grace Our Lord is about to bestow
on you. I can think only of you.
" I have had a Mass said for you in a
miraculous chapel of Our Lady. I begged
and implored our heavenly Queen to obtain
for you from her divine Son the graces you
stand in need of; I also asked our holy
Mother to adopt you as her child.
" Good-bye, dearest Victoire. Love God
with all your heart and He will bless you.
He is the most precious treasure you can
possess and the one I wish you most ardently,
for I love you, dearest child, with the great
est tenderness."
Victoire received the Divine Guest for
EARLY YEARS 9
the first time on Christmas Day, 1770. The
sweet Infant Jesus must have found a cradle
to His liking in this pure and fervent soul.
He came with His tiny hands full of gifts
for the generous little girl who had prepared
with so much love to receive Him. One
of His presents on that happy day was the
priceless gift of the religious vocation. She
evidently confided her secret to her sympa
thetic mistresses, for we are told that if any
lingering trace of the old wilfulness re
appeared, they had only to say, " What,
Victoire ! you find it hard to obey and yet
you wish to be a nun ? " The effect, it ap
pears, was simply magical !
After fourteen or fifteen months of life
in the monastery Victoire returned home.
Her father had been recently appointed
President a mortier of the Breton Parlia
ment, and the family went to reside perma
nently in Rennes : formerly they had been
accustomed to pass merely a few months
there each year, the rest of the time being-
spent at one of their country seats.
Victoire, to her regret, did not go back to
10 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
the Convent. Her mother was anxious to
have her eldest daughter at home, personally
to supervise and direct her education. She
was allowed, however, to go and see the nuns
from time to time, and she already sighed
for the day when she would be one of their
number.
CHAPTER II.
GIRLHOOD.
Fair though it be, to watch unclose
The nestling glories of a rose,
Depth on rich depth, soft fold on fold :
Though fairer be it, to behold
Stately and sceptral lilies break
To beauty and to sweetness wake :
Yet fairer still, to see and sing,
One fair thing is, one matchless thing :
Youth, in its perfect blossoming.
— L. JOHNSON.
COUNT DE SAINT-LUC entered upon his new
functions in 1771. His position was by no
means an enviable or an agreeable one. Al
ready ominous signs of the revolution that
was to shake France to her very foundations
were clearly visible on the political horizon.
He found his best help and comfort in his
young wife, who though more than twenty
years her husband's junior, was eminently
11
12 VICTOIRE I)E SAINT-LUC
fitted by the remarkable penetration of her
mind and the maturity of her judgment to
be his most trusted adviser and confidante.
The Countess cordially detested all that
savoured in any way of woiidliness, but her
new position brought in its wake new duties,
and she found herself forced to entertain
on a large scale. To the charming qualities
that made her a perfect hostess she added
the rarer gift of knowing how to make virtue
and piety attractive to those who came in
contact with her. As her social duties took
up much of her time, she procured for her
children, and more particularly for Victoire,
the best masters in Rennes ; she jealously
guarded, however, her own province, their
religious instruction ; only Canon de Saint-
Luc was admitted to share the privilege of
teaching them their religion. Every morn
ing the Countess, with her children, assisted
at Mass, nor did she fail, whatever her occu
pations might be, to spend at least half-an-
hour daily before the Blessed Sacrament.
She visited the hospitals and the poor, and
it was one of Victoire's most eagerly coveted
GIRLHOOD 13
recompenses to be allowed to accompany
her mother.
Victoire had resumed her old life, but
not her old ways. It had been no mere
passing fit of fervour which had produced
the change in her so noticeable at the time
of her First Communion. She had gener
ously persevered in her good resolutions,
and now each day saw her advancing with
a firmer step along the path leading to per
fection. She met with no great obstacles on
her way until she had attained her fifteenth
year. Then the world with all its witchery
and charms broke suddenly upon her dazzled
eyes, and, for a brief space, her fair young
soul succumbed to its subtle spell.
Victoire was still very young when she
made her debut. At fifteen she began to
accompany her mother to balls and parties.
She was tall and graceful ; her air of distinc
tion, delicate features, lovely colouring, and
laughing blue eyes attracted much attention
in the brilliant society of Rennes. Nor was
Victoire insensible to the admiration she ex
cited. The light-hearted child had vanished.
14 VJCTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
Fervour, too, had taken wing, put to flight
by the first approach of worldliness. Her
thoughts now ran on dress and on all that
could serve to set off her girlish charms to
advantage. She devoted much time and
attention to her hair. In those days, the
coiffure of ladies was a complicated art, as
the portraits of Marie Antoinette amply
prove. If the first effect failed to meet
with Victoire's approval, the elaborate edifice
had to be taken down and begun all over
again. Her mother followed this new de
velopment in her daughter with watchful
care but without undue anxiety ; she felt
convinced that Victoire's good sense and
virtue would soon reassert themselves.
Nor had she long to wait ; at the end of
three months the spell was broken ; as her
eyes became more accustomed to the glare
of the world's glittering pageants, she clearly
perceived their emptiness ; she discovered,
moreover, that its cup of joy which she had
stretched out her hand so eagerly to seize
utterly failed to slake her thirst for happi
ness. Her loss of fervour and her coldness
GIRLHOOD 15
in God's service warned her that she was
running grave risk of turning completely
aside from the road that leads to sanctity
and to God. Like all the saints who have
so bitterly bewailed their lightest faults,
Victoire, to the end of her days, never
ceased to deplore her " worldly life," as she
called it, and she sought by every means in
her power to expiate her girlish vanity.
Meanwhile political affairs had been going
from bad to worse. The troubles of the
times and the parliamentary intrigues to
which they gave rise forced the Count to
resign his Presidency and to withdraw from
public life. Bidding good-bye to Rennes,
he and his family retired to their country
seat at Bot. Here in the old Chateau they
were destined to spend some happy and
peaceful years before the Revolution burst
its flood-gates, spreading ruin and desolation
throughout the smiling land.
Shortly after their installation at Bot, the
family went to Quimper to attend a Jubilee
that was being preached in that town.
This visit had a decisive influence on
16 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
Victoire's life, for it was during its course
that the question of her vocation was de
finitely decided. Even when the world had
seemed to hold her in its toils, she had never
wavered in her childish resolution to give
herself wholly to God ; but how often had
she not wavered in her choice of a Religious
Order ? Each congregation seemed to
sound a note which set her soul immediately
vibrating. The sweetness mingled with
strength of the Visitation had been her
early ideal, but the spirit of penance which
had grown with her growth now drew her
irresistibly towards the Carmel or the Poor
Clares ; on the other hand, her tender love
of the poor and suffering members of Jesus
Christ made her ardently long to consecrate
herself to their service. She was as one be
wildered by the very beauty and variety of
these fair flowers growing in the Garden of
the Church, and knew not which to choose.
The Jubilee over, her parents decided
to leave Victoire for two months at the
Ursuline Convent in order to continue her
painting. An artist of some renown hap-
GIRLHOOD 17
pened to be staying for a short time in
Quimper, and it was arranged that he should
give Vietoire lessons.
Whilst at the Convent, Vietoire went fre
quently to see her uncle, who had been
Bishop of Quimper for the last two years.
It was during one of these visits, in all prob
ability, that she heard for the first time
of The Society of La Retraite, and of its
admirable work for the salvation of souls.
From whatever source she derived her in
formation, we know that it made a deep
impression on her mind. She visited the
establishment, and all she saw tended to in
crease the conviction that her life's work lay
there. And still she hesitated, unable to
make up her mind. Finally, she consulted
her uncle, in whose wisdom and sanctity
she placed unlimited confidence. The holy
Bishop contented himself with merely citing
the words of the Prophet Daniel : " But
they that are learned shall shine as the
brightness of the firmament : and they that
instruct many to Justice, as stars for all
Eternity ".
18 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
These words seemed to flood her soul
with light ; her hesitation was over, and in
the joy of her young heart she plighted her
troth to the work of retreats.
What then was this Institute which
could induce Victoire to choose it in pre
ference to one of the old Religious Orders ?
To answer this question it will be neces
sary to give a brief account of the origin
and development of The Society of La
Retraite.
CHAPTER III.
THE HOUSES OF RETREAT.
" I pray you twice, thrice, and as often as I can,
for the Glory of God our Lord, to do what I have
said [follow the Spiritual Exercises], so that the
Divine Majesty may not reprove me later for not
having conjured you with all my might to do the best
thing that I can think, feel, and understand on earth.
. . ." — ST. IGNATIUS.
IN 1660, Pere Vincent Huby, one of the
most illustrious sons of St. Ignatius, was
inspired by God to open a House of Re
treats for men in Vannes. He found a holy
and zealous collaborator in Monsieur de
Kerlivio, the Vicar General of Mgr. de
Rosmadec. The object of the two Servants
of God was to provide a House to which
men of all classes could withdraw for a few
days, from their usual occupations, and in
solitude and silence reflect on the great
19 2*
20 V1CTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
eternal truths. Their undertaking was vis
ibly blessed by God: the retreats were
largely attended, and the good effected was
so great that in a short time the whole
country-side was renewed.
Struck by the marvellous effects of these
retreats, Catherine de Fraricheville, a wealthy
lady of eminent sanctity, determined to found
a House of Retreats for women in Vannes.
After the usual crosses and contradictions
which are the hall-mark of works destined
to procure in a more than common measure
the glory of God and the salvation of souls,
the House was at length opened in 1674,
and soon the women's retreats bid fair to
outrival the men's, both in the numbers that
attended them, and in their fruitfulness.
Other holy and zealous ladies emulated
her example, and Houses of Retreats sprang
up in various parts of Brittany. Each House
formed a separate entity, entirely inde
pendent of the others. To the Venerable
Catherine de Francheville belongs the glory
of having initiated the great work, and in
this sense she may be regarded as the
THE HOUSES OF RETREAT 21
Foundress of Retreats for Women. Her
cause of Canonization has been introduced
at Rome.
As each House was set up, a certain num
ber of fervent and generous ladies came for
ward to devote themselves to the work of
retreats, but though they lived together in
Community they were not strictly speaking
nuns.
Each establishment had its own Rule,
which was approved by the Bishop of the
Diocese, who was at the same time Superior
of the Community. No novice could be
received without his permission. After a
postulate of six months and a noviceship of
one year, the novice pronounced a solemn
Act of Consecration in presence of the
Bishop. This Consecration replaced the
vows which, however, could be made, if de
sired, in secret, with the consent of the Con
fessor. The Rule was deemed sufficient to
ensure a life of Chastity, Obedience, and
Stability in the Society. In no circumstance
was the vow of Poverty taken. Each mem
ber retained the possession of her fortune,
22 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
but she was bound to administer it in the
spirit of the strictest evangelical poverty.
In those days, before the Revolution had
brought about a greater levelling of the
classes, nobility of birth was one of the con
ditions of admission to the Society ; but the
proudest title of the many noble ladies who
devoted their lives to the work of retreats
was that of " Auxiliaries and Co-operators
in the Sacerdotal Ministry ". They not only
directed and took part in the material work
in which they were helped by servants, but
they took an active share in the retreat
itself. They were trained and skilled cate-
chists whose aid was invaluable to the Jesuits,
and after their suppression, to the other
priests who gave the exercises of St. Ignatius
to the retreatants. Besides reading aloud
in the dormitories and during meals, the
" Dames de la Retraite " gave Spiritual
Conferences and Instructions ; they excelled,
moreover, in explaining the famous symbolic
pictures which Pere Huby had borrowed
from Dom Michel le Nobletz : the role of
these pictures was an important one.
THE HOUSES OF RETREAT 23
From twelve to twenty retreats were
given annually in each House. The number
of those present never fell below a hundred,
but it was by no means rare to have from
three to four hundred retreatants. These
figures will help us to form some idea of the
scope of the work and of the vast field that
lay open to the labours of ardent and apos
tolic souls like Victoire.
The Houses of Retreat continued to
flourish and produce abundant fruit until the
Revolution laid them low : the only one to
survive the storm was the House of Retreats
in Quimper. We shall have occasion to
follow its fortunes in tracing the career of
Victoire.
No sooner had she returned home than
she hastened to tell her parents of her inten
tion of joining La Retraite and begged their
permission to enter without delay. The
Countess, with her customary generosity in
God's service, was ready to give her consent,
but the Count was by no means willing to
surrender his favourite daughter at a mo
ment's notice. He was too sincere a Christian,
24 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
however, to oppose God's Will, but he was
not sorry to postpone the evil day ; he
therefore informed Victoire that she would
be free to follow her vocation when she had
attained her majority.
To the young girl the disappointment was
a bitter one, and she immediately set to work
to storm Heaven by novenas of prayers and
penances that her father's heart might be
softened. The Count remaining obdurate.
Victoire consoled herself with the reflection
that this time had been given her to make
herself more fit for her future Apostolate.
She therefore determined to make the most
of her opportunities, and cheerfully took her
place once more in the family circle.
Life in the old chateau was not unlike life
in a convent : there were the same fervour
and regularity and the same joyous spirit.
Pere de Penanros, an ex-Jesuit, was chap
lain and at the same time tutor to the two
boys. He was much esteemed and loved by
the family with whom he remained seven
teen years.
At 7 a.m. the household assembled in
THE HOUSES OF RETREAT 25
the Chapel for Morning Prayers, followed
by a short spiritual reading. Pere de
Penanros then said Mass. After breakfast
the boys went off to work with their tutor,
the girls with their mother. Victoire know
ing that Breton was indispensable for the
work of retreats studied it with great ardour :
by dint of hard work joined to fervent
prayer, she was able, in a surprisingly short
space of time, to converse fluently and wrrite
correctly in that most difficult language.
She read Latin, too, with Pere de Penanros :
not that she might appear learned, her
ambition was on a higher plane : to follow
with intelligent interest the sacred liturgy
was what this true daughter of the Church
desired. The study of the great French
classics opened her eyes to the beauties of
her own language. She took pleasure in
writing verse, and even turned play-wright
for the family enjoyment. She was a very
apt pupil, and it was not long before she was
able to render efficient aid in instructing her
younger sisters.
In the afternoon before resuming work,
26 V1CTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
the Countess read aloud the " Lives of the
Saints " and a few pages of some instructive
and interesting book. Whilst her daughters
were busy with their needlework, she in
sisted on their keeping silence for at least a
quarter of an hour ; her object was to teach
them to control the tongue, and at the same
time train them to think, for each in turn
had to give an account of the subject of her
reflections. Victoire, whose mind turned
invariably to God and spiritual things, had
always something edifying to relate.
Part of the day was devoted to good
works. Victoire taught the village children
their catechism, and helped her mother to
ground them thoroughly in the knowledge
of their religion. The chateau was the Pro
vidence of the country-side in those days
when doctors were few and far between.
The Countess, whilst reserving to herself the
" general supervision," placed Victoire, to
her great delight, in charge of the Dispensary.
Both mother and daughter excelled in
dressing sores and wounds of every descrip
tion ; both knew the hidden virtue of herbs
THE HOUSES OF RETREAT 27
and simples, and could make up ointments
of great healing power, God blessed the
tender and devoted charity shown to His
poor and afflicted children, and we are told
that many were the cures wrought by the
hands of the Countess and her saintly
daughter. The latter invariably sought out
the most repulsive cases, and she would often
kneel when dressing their gaping wounds to
show her reverence for these suffering mem
bers of Jesus Christ. On one occasion, the
heroic young girl, like St. Jeanne de Chantal,
St. F. Xavier, arid others, sucked the matter
from one of these wounds with her own lips.
On certain days the chateau presented the
appearance of an economic kitchen of our
own time where portions of food were dis
tributed to the poor arid needy ; they were
also presented with warm, stout garments
to replace their rags and tatters. These
were gala days for Victoire and her sisters
who had charge of the distribution.
Supper was preceded by Rosary, Spiritual
Reading, and Visit to the Blessed Sacrament.
After supper, a merry party retired to the
28 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
drawing-room where innocent games and
bright and joyous conversation made time
fly all too quickly. Night prayers in com
mon brought the well-spent day to a close ;
but before retiring to rest the children knelt
to receive their parents' blessing.
It is consoling to reflect that at a time
when France was rushing headlong to dis
aster, occasioned to a great extent by the
frivolity, extravagance, and vices of the
Court and aristocracy, aristocrats of the type
of the de Saint-Luc were leading Christian
lives worthy of the highest and noblest tra
ditions of their race. And it was in families
such as these that God was to choose pure
and spotless victims for the redemption of
the unfortunate land.
CHAPTER IV.
PROBATION.
When thy song is shield and mirror
To the fair snake-curled Pain,
Where thou dar'st affront her terror
That on her thou may'st attain
Persean conquest ; — seek no more,
O seek no more !
Pass the gates of Luthany, tread the region Elenore.
— F. THOMPSON.
LIFE glided smoothly on in the old chateau
until Victoire had reached her seventeenth
year. Then her health began to fail. Her
anxious mother earnestly sought to discover
the cause of this unexpected breakdown in
her daughter's naturally strong constitution.
After watching Victoire carefully for some
time, she came to the conclusion that the
trouble was due to the young girl's excessive
austerities. For, like so many of the saints,
29
30 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
Victoire seemed possessed of a positive pas
sion for pain — not for pain considered in
itself, but divinely enamoured of Christ
Crucified, the quintessence of the love of
such souls is to give — to give love for love,
suffering for suffering. The penances prac
tised in her father's chateau by this delicately
nurtured young girl would make many of
our less virile generation positively shudder.
She had managed to procure several instru
ments of penance, and had shown much
ingenuity in inventing others. Besides hair-
shirts, knotted whips, iron chains, etc., she
was the proud possessor of a crown of thorns
which she did not content herself with merely
looking at : it was in frequent use. Planks
of wood were concealed in her bed, and it
was on these she slept with a book for sole
pillow. She was fond, too, of putting gravel
in her shoes. Once, like St. Catherine, she
dropped lighted sealing-wax on her knees :
sores formed immediately which made it
most painful if not well-nigh impossible to
kneel.
Her mother, gently but firmly, pointed
PROBATION 31
out to her daughter that to preserve her
health for the work of retreats would be far
more pleasing in God's sight, than to wear
herself out before the time by excessive
austerities. She finished by pronouncing
the dreaded sentence : the treasured instru
ments of penance must be given up !
The young girl obeyed but not without a
certain reluctance and even sadness : it was
so sweet to suffer for God ! " Yes," whis
pered the interior voice, " but obedience is
better than sacrifice." Her spirit of faith
and her good sense came quickly to her aid,
and she determined to make up for the
loss of exterior penance by an increase of
generosity in interior mortification : here
her ingenuity stood her in good stead and
suggested many acts of self-denial, which
without injuring her health were nevertheless
crucifying to nature. Yet even now our
delicacy would shrink from some of her
acts : as, for instance, when she gave her
breakfast roll to a beggar in exchange for
some of his most uninviting looking crusts
which she ate most joyfully.
32 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
After all this we are not surprised to hear
that so generous a soul was gifted with a
great spirit of prayer. The divine fire which
consumed her seemed to become sensible to
those around ; when she came from praying
in the Chapel, it was remarked that she
appeared all inflamed with the love of God.
The same thing was noticed whenever she
spoke of God and of spiritual things : her
whole being seemed lit up by the flame
which burnt so radiantly within.
Like most young people Victoire was
fond of building castles in the air : the bright
visions of her young imagination, however,
had little in common with those of most
girls of her age. All Victoire's projects and
schemes for the future had God and His
glory for sole object. She saw in spirit
catechists established in every parish for
the special instruction of the poor ; Sisters
of Charity, like white-winged angels,
ministering to the sick and suffering where-
ever human misery was to be found ;
apostolic schools where future apostles
were being trained, in order to spread the
PROBATION 33
Gospel to the furthest ends of the earth ;
itinerant missionaries going from village to
village, and from town to town, preaching
to the people and converting multitudes
from their evil ways. To her sister
Angelique, who was but slightly her junior,
Victoire unfolded her plans for the conver
sion of the world, for nothing short of this
could satisfy her zeal. With burning elo
quence, the young orator would demonstrate
to her sympathetic listener the facility with
which these vast projects could be carried
out : to the imperturbable confidence of
youth no obstacle seemed insurmountable.
Happily, Angelique had the bright idea
of keeping a diary, and it is to her, accord
ingly, that we owe many details of her
saintly sister's life. She tells us, for instance,
that from her earliest childhood Victoire had
expressed a wish to die when she was thirty-
three and to die a martyr. This desire in
creased in vehemence as she grew older, and
at eighteen, she was often heard to exclaim as
though endowed with a prophetic spirit : "Die
like Jesus when I am 33, and die a martyr ! "
3
34 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
Victoire's love of the Sacred Heart of
Jesus was to play an important part in
bringing about the realization of her twofold
desire. This beautiful devotion had, in all
probability, been implanted in her soul
during her happy school-days at the Visita
tion. The seed had been carefully fostered
by her uncle, himself an ardent lover of the
Divine Heart. In such rich soil it had
germinated and developed rapidly, and was
now in full flower. One of Victoire's
favourite pastimes was to paint pictures and
badges of the Sacred Heart, which she
afterwards distributed to her relations and
friends, little dreaming at the time what
would one day be the fruit of this assuredly
most innocent practice.
Victoire was deeply loved by all who
came within range of her personal charm
and sanctity. Still we feel no surprise to
hear that her brothers' and sisters' great love
for her was slightly tempered by awe : they
felt she had reached heights inaccessible to
their weakness. She was particularly fond
of her brother Athanase, who was the
PROBATION 35
youngest of the family, and she ardently
longed to see him both a priest and mis
sionary ; but in spite of the countless prayers
and penances offered for this intention her
desire was not fulfilled. On the contrary,
his wayward youth caused his family no
small alarm at times. After the Revolution,
however, owing doubtless to his saintly
sister's prayers, this " child of her tears," as
she called him, showed himself a worthy
scion of so rare a stock. Victoire had much
at heart the spiritual welfare of all her sisters
and brothers ; she was as anxious for their
progress in virtue as for her own — a little
too anxious, perhaps, at times. She could
never forget how nearly she herself had
succumbed to the fascinations of the world,
and she was resolved that her experience
should serve to safeguard her sisters from a
similar peril. But they, for their part, had
no intention of following too closely in the
mortified footsteps of the " little St. Jerome,"
as she was called in the family; to her
earnest exhortations they would laughingly
rejoin that if they took her advice they
36 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
must soon say good-bye to all enjoyment.
At that period, Victoire's sanctity was still
somewhat immature ; in ripening it became
exquisitely sweet and mellow.
CHAPTER V.
DESIRE FULFILLED.
I have desired to go
Where springs not fail,
To fields where flies no sharp or sided hail
And a few lilies blow.
— (T. HOPKINS.
AT length the weary winter of waiting
drew to a close, and the spring of joyous
expectancy made the heart of Victoire glad :
the time appointed by her father for her entry
was at hand, for she was about to celebrate
her twenty-first birthday. If her proba
tion had been a long one, at least it had not
been fruitless : a divine work had been
accomplished within her. Well might she
hear the tender invitation ringing in her
ears : " Arise, make haste, my love, my dove,
my beautiful one and come, for winter is
37
88 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
past and the rain is over and gone ". Her
soul was indeed fair and pleasing in God's
sight.
Mgr. de Saint-Luc himself chose 2nd
February, 1782, the Feast of the Purification,
for his niece's entry. A few days before this
date all the family went to Quimper in order
to be with Victoire till the very last moment.
Despite her joy that she was free at last
to follow her vocation, the young girl felt
acutely the parting from her old home and all
her dear ones. They on their side deeply de
plored her loss ; she was regretted not only by
family and friends, but by the old servants
who had known her from the cradle, and
also by the poor and the afflicted whom she
had so generously succoured. On the morn
ing of the 2nd at a very early hour, the
Countess, anxious to spare her husband the
anguish of a last farewell, stole quietly from
the house accompanied by her four daughters.
As they silently traversed the lonely and
deserted streets, Victoire could scarcely
realize the fact that her long-cherished de
sire was about to be fulfilled ; the canticle
DESIRE FULFILLED 39
of joy her soul was interiorly intoning found
outward expression as the Convent walls
came in sight : " This is my rest for ever and
ever : here will I dwell for I have chosen
it," she exultantly exclaimed.
When they arrived, the Bishop was already
waiting at the altar. He delivered a moving
discourse suggested hy that day's feast. Our
Lady offering her Divine Son in the Temple
to His Heavenly Father, and the mother
who was at that moment sacrificing her first
born to the Lord, afforded a touching parallel
which the holy and eloquent prelate skilfully
drew out. Did his prophetic eye piercing
the veil of the future follow the parallel to
its very end, and see in both cases the final
sacrifice consummated on a bloody altar ?
During Mass, Victoire pronounced the
Solemn Act of Consecration which like a
royal seal set its impress deeply on her,
setting her apart for the service of the King
of Kings. Henceforth she was a dedicated
thing belonging solely to God and to the
work of retreats.
We have already given a brief outline of
40 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
the origin of the Society and of its work.
Suffice it now to say that the House of
Retreats in Quimper was founded in 1678
by Claude Th^rese de Kerm&io. This
saintly woman, whose life was one long
prayer and exercise of charity, visited the
retreat of Vannes ; there she was initiated
into the work by the Venerable Catherine
de Francheville herself, and by the holy
Pere Huby. Both gave her all the help
and encouragement in their power, for they
warmly approved of her project of opening
a House of Retreats in Quimper. Mine, de
Kermeno succeeded in her undertaking:
the establishment prospered, and like that
of Vannes, its development was marked by
the same fruits of conversion and regenera
tion. After the death of the Foundress,
a succession of zealous and enlightened
Superiors carried on the work which she
had so ably begun.
Marie Charlotte de Marigo was the
Superior destined by God to direct and
guide Victoire in her new life. She was a
woman of remarkable virtue and sane judg-
DESIRE FULFILLED 41
ment. In her girlhood, she had set her
heart on entering the Carmel, but her
delicate health stood in the way. When
later on she wished to join La Retraite her
mother, unwilling to forego the society of a
child whom she fondly loved, refused to give
her consent. But the words of Our Lord :
" He that loveth father or mother more than
me is not worthy of me," were ever present
to her daughter's mind ; and one day sum
moning up courage she left her home secretly
and betook herself to the House of Retreats.
It was not long before her faith and trust in
God were rewarded. Her mother speedily
relented and came herself to the Convent
to give her daughter not only her consent,
but also her blessing. Marie Charlotte de
Marigo was to have the perilous distinction
of standing at the helm and guiding the bark
safely through the furious tempest that was
soon to burst violently forth. We must not
forget to the honour of this strong arid fear
less soul that of all the Houses of Retreats
that of Quimper alone survived the Revolu
tion. Of this noble woman, the Bishop of
42 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
Quimper once remarked that the Spirit of
Wisdom and Counsel were in her.
The Community of which Victoire was
now a member was by no means a big one :
it comprised five in all. This number ap
pears, at first sight, out of all proportion with
the work to be accomplished, but we must
remember that servants also were employed
in the Houses of Retreats. Prior to the
Revolution the ladies in any one establish
ment never exceeded ten or eleven, and often
five or six devoted souls sufficed to carry on
the work. Shortly before Victoire's entry
the Quimper Community in sore need of
new recruits made a most touching appeal
to the Blessed Virgin, Patroness of the
Society. Our Lady heard their prayer
and sent them Victoire de Saint-Luc, the
brightest ornament and the purest glory of
the Institute.
CHAPTER VI.
IN GOD'S VINEYARD.
The child, the seed, the grain of corn,
The acorn on the hill,
Each for some separate end is born
In season fit, and still
Each must in strength arise to work
The Almighty will.
— R. L. STEVENSON.
VICTOIRE entered immediately upon her new
functions with the zeal and ardour which
characterized all her undertakings. Her
splendid home-training and the great gifts
both of nature and of grace with which she
was endowed made her eminently fitted for
the work of retreats. She could speak of
God and of spiritual things with wonderful
facility and eloquence, but following the
advice of her old friend and confessor, Pere
de Penanros, she never trusted to this talent.
43
44 VICTOIHE DE SAINT-LUC
He had earnestly impressed upon her the
necessity of preparing each Instruction and
Conference with the greatest care, and then
committing it to memory. Her words were
full of unction and went straight to the
hearts of her hearers, touching and convert
ing them. Her personal holiness was, un
doubtedly, the most potent factor in helping
her to win souls to God. Sanctity seemed
to radiate from her like sunlight ; and droop
ing souls revived in its warm and invig
orating atmosphere. She was known by
no other name than that of " La Sainte
Victoire ". Her activity, too, was surpris
ing ; she possessed an enormous capacity for
work. For this reason she preferred the
Breton retreats because of the hundreds of
persons who flocked to them.
Amongst the various duties which Victoire
had to perform, one in particular was most
pleasing to her. In those pre-revolution
days, children often accompanied their elders
to the retreat in order to be prepared for
their First Communion. This congenial
work was confided to Victoire. The innocence
IN GOD'S VINEYARD 45
and purity of these little ones instinctively
attracted her ; and their young hearts im
mediately expanded in her bright presence.
With what devoted love and care did she
not seek to fit these little living tahernacles
for the reception of the Divine Guest ? Her
long experience in instructing and prepar
ing the village children at Bot had made her
a past-master in the art. She knew perfectly
how to come down to the level of her youth
ful audience, and they, on their part, drank
in her teaching eagerly.
But if Victoire loved the innocent souls of
children, she loved no less the souls of sinners
too. During each retreat, like the Good
Shepherd, she would go in search of poor
straying sheep : attracted by the sweetness
of her charity and by the gentle persuasive
ness of her words, they would give her their
confidence ; and soon she would have the
joy of leading them to the vivifying streams
of Penance and the rich and fertile pastures
of Holy Communion. Like the Angels of
God she would rejoice more over one of
these conversions than over the ninety -nine
46 VICTO1RE DE SAINT-LUC
well-disposed retreatants. Not content with
ministering to their spiritual wants she would
give material help too, when needful. Many
unfortunates, whose very necessity exposed
them to temptation, were, thanks to Vic-
toire's generosity, removed to places of
safety. In order to have more to give she
practised the most rigorous poverty, though
she was bound by no vow but that of
chastity. Mme. de Marigo was obliged,
however, to intervene and regulate her alms
giving, otherwise she would have left herself
without even a change of linen.
Victoire's life in religion was not to be one
of unclouded peace and happiness ; such is
not God's way with His Saints. The greater
the sanctity to which a soul is destined the
greater the tribulation through which she
must pass. Self-love, subtle and elusive,
must be destroyed before God can establish
Himself absolute Master of her faculties :
this " Amaranthine weed suffering no flower
except its own to mount " twines and en
tangles itself around the fairest blossoms of
the most saintly souls, threatening not only
IN GOD'S VINEYARD 17
to impede but even to strangle their growth.
All the efforts of the soul to uproot it are in
vain ; if checked in one direction, it develops
in another ; God alone can burn to the very
root of the evil. This He does by subjecting
the soul either to severe interior trials or to
terrible temptations which, when endured
with loving submission, burn her bright and
beautiful in His sight. y^
Victoire had not been long a member of
the Community when doubts as to her voca
tion began violently to assail her. Had then
this work of retreats, of such surpassing
beauty from afar, proved but a mirage close
at hand '( Far from such being the case it was
the very sublimity of the work which ap
palled her. Who was she, she would ask
herself, to dare to aspire so high ? What
right had a sinner like herself to take part
in the sublime functions of the Apostolate ?
Better far to be hidden away in the depths
of some cloister where, by means of prayer
and penance, she could work for the salvation
of souls in a way more befitting her un-
worthiness. At the same time Carmel, or
48 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
the Poor Clares would rise before her and
seem to beckon with smiling welcome.
Her doubts and perplexities only increased
as time went on, and her suffering at length
became so acute that her health, which until
then had been the most robust in the Com
munity, showed signs of giving way beneath
the strain. But God did not abandon His
faithful servant ; she made a private retreat
under the direction of Fere de Perianros and
peace returned to her soul. A verse of
Holy Scripture cited by her uncle had first
determined her vocation to La Retraite ;
now two other texts of Holy Writ, like rays
of brilliant light, lit up the darkness of her
soul, and dispelled for ever the thick clouds
of doubt and fear which had enveloped it.
Victoire had felt powerfully moved on coming
across Our Lord's question to St. Peter :
" Simon, Son of John, lovest thou me more
than these ? " and upon Peter's answer in
the affirmative, " Feed my Lambs ". She
had realized for the first time, as it were,
their deep significance. The words too of
St. James had strangely stirred her : u He
IN GOD'S VINEYARD 40
who causeth a sinner to be converted from
the error of his way shall save his soul from
death and shall cover a multitude of sins ".
Mgr. de Saint-Luc had followed with the
deepest anxiety the struggle raging in the
heart of his much-loved niece. The retreat
over, he drew up for her guidance certain
recommendations which, faithfully observed,
would help to maintain her in a state of
peace. The prophetic tone of one of these
is very striking. " Never on any pretext to
leave the House of Retreats unless forced
by terrible circumstances to do so." This
was in 1783. But a brief while, and this
heroic Confessor of the Faith was to be
himself one of the first victims of the " ter
rible circumstances ".
Victoire continued to spend herself without
counting in the work of retreats now that
her fears were set at rest. Nor was she ever
again disturbed by doubts concerning her
vocation. In the years that followed, her
only trial was the craving, that she was not
allowed to satisfy, for excessive austerities :
her notes of retreat bear witness to her severe
4
50 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
struggle to keep within the limits prescribed
by obedience ; they also record her deep
contrition for her failures in this respect.
But the thirst for suffering which for so long
had tormented her soul, God himself was now
about to slake.
CHAPTER VII.
THE BEGINNING OF SORROWS.
Sorrow re-marries us to God.
— DANTE.
THE causes, both remote and immediate, of
the French Revolution are too numerous,
deep, and complex to be dwelt on here ; we
shall therefore pass on rapidly to the events
which exercised a decisive influence on Vic-
toire's career.
In August, 1790, Louis XVI. unhappily
ratified the Civil Constitution of the Clergy :
this proved to be the death-blow of the holy
and illustrious Bishop of Quimper. Since
the first outbreak of the Revolution he had
been filled with the most painful forebodings.
The greater part of his nights were spent in
51 4*
52 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
supplications and in exercises of penance.
On one occasion, before dawn, he was per
ceived barefooted, with a rope round his
neck, returning from a pilgrimage to one of
Our Lady's shrines where he had offered
himself as a holocaust for the salvation of
his people. Nearly every day, he visited his
dear daughters of La Retraite, and they felt
their hearts burn within them, as they lis
tened to the saintly prelate whose words were
on fire with divine love. One evening to
wards the end of August, so strong was
Mgr. de Saint-Luc's presentiment of his ap
proaching end that he announced to the
little Community that he had come to give
them his blessing for the last time. These
words filled their hearts with grief and con
sternation. As they knelt in tears at his
feet, he earnestly exhorted them to bear with
patience and resignation the persecutions and
sufferings to which, he felt convinced, they
would ere long be subjected. Shortly after
this visit, he received the fatal news of the
ratification of the Civil Constitution of the
Clergy. " This is my death-warrant," he
THE BEGINNING OF SORROWS 53
remarked sadly, to his secretary. One of his
last acts was to draw up a spirited protest
against this dastardly attack upon the rights
and liberties of the Church. He had been
suffering for some time from a slow fever,
but it now increased with such violence that
in a few days the saintly Bishop was no more.
His death was regarded as a public calamity,
both by his clergy and by his people. He
was deeply regretted by " Les Dames de La
Retraite," to whom he had been not merely
a Superior but a devoted friend and father.
But none felt his loss as V'ictoire, who had
been accustomed from her earliest childhood
to turn to him for light and guidance.
The death of Mgr. de Saint-Luc, how
ever, was but the prelude to the sorrows to
come. The scandalous election of the schis
matic intruder Bishop Expilly was the next
act in the painful drama. The election took
place in the Cathedral of Quimper ; though
still quite early in the morning, most of the
electors were drunk, which explains the fact
that some of the votes were given to the
college dog. It was under such lamentable
54 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
circumstances that the wretched Expilly
was chosen to fill the place of one who had
always been reputed a saint.
In the meanwhile the House of Retreats
was rendering important services to the
cause of religion in Finistere. Two briefs
of Pope Pius VI. had arrived safely in
Quimper ; they had for their object to en
lighten Catholics as to what they had to do
during the difficult and dangerous crisis
through which the Church in France was
passing. The second brief denounced the
election of Expilly as illegitimate, sacri
legious, null and void, and appointed L'Abbe
Louis-Jean de Larchantel, Vicar Apostolic
of the Diocese. The terrified printers refused
to keep the copies of the briefs. Mme. de
Marigo, with the consent of her companions,
nobly offered to run the risk of receiving
arid circulating them throughout Finistere.
Had Expilly any suspicion of this role
played by " Les Dames de la Retraite " when
later on he paid them his first visit as their
legitimate Bishop and Superior ? It seems
somewhat unlikely. He delivered a pom-
THE BEGINNING OF SORROWS 55
pous address to the Community, in which he
spoke in the most eulogistic terms of the
work of retreats and of the ladies who de
voted their lives to it. He brought his speech
to a close by declaring that both he himself
and his Episcopal Vicar, Citoyen Gomaire,
would be only too happy to take part in the
great work themselves. To this magnificent
offer, Mme. de Marigo very coldly replied :
" Sir, we cannot accept your services ". A
most awkward pause ensued, after which he
hastened to take his leave, but all felt that
the House was already marked out for
special vengeance.
It was therefore without surprise that
shortly after this visit, the Community found
themselves called upon to take the oath and
submit humbly to Expilly, or bring the work
of retreats immediately to an end. In the
face of such an alternative there could be no
hesitation. Up to this point retreats had
continued to be given amidst ever-increasing
difficulties ; but now the fire which had
burnt so brightly for more than a century
was about to be extinguished by sacrilegious
56 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
hands : that fire which had rekindled divine
love in so many chilled and frozen souls.
Some sacred embers were, by God's Provid
ence, to be preserved and, after the Revolu
tion, fanned into still brighter flames by the
valiant women who were now to face perse
cution and even death for their fidelity to
Christ and His Vicar.
They were again summoned to take the
oath ; this time in case of non-compliance
the Community was to be dispersed within
eight days and the House of Retreats closed.
All resolutely persisted in their refusal.
Victoire was recovering, at the time, from
an attack of smallpox, and still kept her
room. The Commissaries, nevertheless, in
sisted on seeing her, one of them observing
that she, at least, might be willing to take
the oath. When this remark was reported
to her in their presence, " I am ready," she
cried, " to sign my refusal with my blood ".
A few days later the Commissaries again
presented themselves to take the inventory.
The vast quantity of furniture and linen,
necessary for the accommodation of hundreds
THE BEGINNING OF SORROWS 57
of retreatants, excited their surprise and
admiration. " Surely, ladies, you will never
have the courage to abandon such wealth,"
they naively exclaimed ; " take but the oath
and all this will still be yours." The accents
of the tempter are ever the same : "If thou
wilt adore me all shall be thine ". " Offer
but one grain of incense to the gods and
thou shalt have abundance of riches, plea
sures, and honours." But unchanging too
the answer which rings out clearly through
the vaulted centuries : " Begone, Satan, the
Lord thy God shalt thou adore and Him
only shalt thou serve ". The form may vary,
the sense is always the same.
The Quimper retreat was to have the
honour of being the first religious House
closed in Brittany, and in all probability in
the whole of France. Its establishment had
been primarily due to the zeal of the Jesuits,
and its development to the untiring labours
of the devoted women who had spent both
life and fortune in its service. Mme. de
Mango and her companions who, with aching
hearts, were on the point of crossing its
58 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
threshold for the last time, had nobly main
tained all that was best and highest in the
traditions of the Institute. The House
might be closed, but as long as these brave
women existed the Society was not dissolved.
But whither were they to go ? Where
find a shelter from the storm ? Terror had
already cast its baleful shadow over the un
happy land. Many hearts that had once
been kind and generous now seemed para
lysed with fear and dread. Few were found
to come forward to the aid of the proscribed.
The Augustinians of the Hotel-Dieu were
an honourable exception ; but Mine, de
Marigo was anxious to get away from
Quimper and the machinations of Expilly.
She had recourse to the Benedictines du
Calvaire whose Abbey was a few miles
distant from the town, and the Superior re
sponded generously to her appeal.
It was thither, therefore, that the little
group of " Dames de la lletraite," happy to
suffer persecution for justice' sake, directed
their steps, 9th July, 1791. The Prioress,
JVlme. de Penfentenyo, and her Community
THE BEGINNING OF SORROWS 59
received the poor outcasts with the most
tender charity and open-hearted sympathy.
During the fourteen months that their guests
remained with them, the Benedictines con
tinued to show them every delicate attention
and kindness. Never for one instant did the
brightness of their incomparable charity grow
dim. Alas ! they in turn were to be de
spoiled arid driven from their peaceful home.
An incident, slight in itself, but destined to
have important consequences, occurred some
time after Victoire had taken up her abode
in the Abbey. She was engaged one day
in painting or embroidering badges of the
Sacred Heart. The door of her room was
open and Doctor Laroque-Tremaria, who
had called to see a patient, happened to pass
by ; he stopped to speak to Victoire whom
he had attended during her attack of small
pox. In the course of conversation, she
offered him one of the badges which he
gratefully accepted, asking her, at the same
time, for one to send his brother, a naval
officer at Lorient. She gladly gave it, tell
ing him to recommend his brother to have
60 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
confidence ; it would draw down on him
God's blessing. The Doctor promised to
do so and took the first opportunity of send
ing on the badge. Victoire attached no im
portance to this act which quickly faded
from her mind.
Tyrannous measures were succeeding one
another with cruel rapidity in France, and
the time came all too soon when the re
ligious orders were involved in a common
ruin : the compassionate Benedictines as
well as their guests had to seek some place
of shelter and safety. Under these circum
stances the Count and Countess de Saint-
Luc easily obtained permission for Victoire
to return to Bot : there she would be com
paratively safe, and able to continue her life
of piety and seclusion. Mme. de Marigo
and Mme. de Larchantel found refuge with
a relation of the latter's, whose chateau was
hidden away in the heart of the country at
Huelgoet. The other " Dames de la Re-
traite " returned to their respective families.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE SHADOW DEEPENS.
Who doomed to go in company with Pain,
And Fear, and Bloodshed, miserable train !
Turns his necessity to glorious gain ;
In face of these doth exercise a power
Which is our human nature's highest dower :
Controls them and subdues, transmutes, bereaves
Of their bad influence, and their good receives :
By objects, which might force the soul to abate
Her feeling, rendered more compassionate. . . .
— WORDSWORTH.
IT was with mingled joy and grief that
Victoire found herself once more in the
home of her childhood. Sinister events had
occasioned her return, and the future loomed
dark and menacing before her. The merry
family party that had enlivened the old
chateau in the days gone by had long since
61
62 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
been broken up : her two brothers were
fighting in the " arm£e des Princes" and
were ere long to swell the ranks of the
" Emigre's " ; her sisters, Ang^lique and
Felicit6 were married, and only the youngest,
Euphrasie, was still at home. Pere de
Penanros, that old and tried friend, was a
prisoner in Brest for refusing to take the
Constitutional oath.
Without giving way to idle grief, Victoire
set to work to cheer and comfort those
around her : all were surprised at the seren
ity and joy that seemed to flow from
some never-failing source within ; she alone
could still bring a smile to their sad and
care-worn faces. V^ictoire was able to cor
respond for a short time with Pere de
Penanros and with Monsieur Boissiere, her
late uncle's secretary : both priests were
confined in the same prison. None of
Victoire's letters have been found ; one
written in collaboration by the two Confessors
of the Faith has happily been preserved ; it
is in the style of St. Paul's epistles, and is
addressed to the four sisters.
THE SHADOW DEEPENS 63
It runs :—
" Holland and Dominique,1 prisoners of
Christ Jesus, to the most honoured and
dearly beloved in the Lord : Victoire,
Angelique, F£licit£, and Euphrasie. Grace
to you and peace from God our Father and
from the Lord Jesus Christ.
" We give thanks to our God always mak
ing a remembrance of you in our prayers.
" Hearing of your charity and faith which
you have in the Lord Jesus towards us and
towards our fellow-prisoners,
" We have distributed the badges which
you sent us : they are the precious pledges
of your devotion and of ours to the Divine
Heart of Jesus. We have still two dozen
left which we shall give to our brethren
accordingly as they arrive, if perchance they
are not all safely disposed of by this.
" Take care, we implore you, not to make
us lose the merit of our slight sufferings by
your over-estimation of them, and also by
your praise of poor and unprofitable servants
who are but doing their duty. Pray that
1 Holland de Penanros, Dominique Boissiere.
64 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
we may act in such a way that we may not
deserve to hear those terrible words : * You
have already received your reward '.
" In all probability we shall be exiled. But
Christians are always in exile wherever they
may be : had we ever doubted the fact we
have only to look around us : what we have
to put up with would prove it beyond the
possibility of a doubt. Let us ask for one
another the spirit of sacrifice, firmly trusting
that He who has begun in us the work of
our salvation will perfect it for His glory
and for our happiness.
" In the meanwhile we beseech the God of
all consolations Who deigns to bestow His
favours on us so abundantly that we our
selves may be enabled to console those who
are in affliction on our account. We there
fore entreat you not to give way to grief.
Rejoice rather because we are exposed to
many dangers on the part of men. If it is
God's Holy Will, He will turn aside these
perils, if on the contrary He wills the con
summation of our sacrifice, we have already
received too many marks of His love and
THE SHADOW DEEPENS 65
protection not to have confidence that He
will watch over us to the end.
" Besides we have not given up all hope of
seeing you once again, provided it be within
the designs of God's Providence.
" The two prisoners and their brethren
salute you.
" May the grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ
be with your spirit."
A few days later the prisoners were de
ported to Spain : Pere de Penanros died
there in exile in 1796 ; Monsieur Boissiere
lived to see Quimper again.
Victoire resumed her old life of prayer and
charity, but it was not to be for long. Two
months had scarcely elapsed when the vul
tures of the Revolution began to swoop
down on the unfortunate chateau. Its in
habitants were disturbed at all hours and its
premises searched for compromising docu
ments. Nor did this satisfy the zeal of
the patriots : the family was summoned
for indefinite periods to Quimper in order
that it might be kept under stricter super
vision.
5
66 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
It was during one of these visits that for
the first time Victoire was cited to appear
before the revolutionary tribunal to answer
a charge of the gravest importance. The
reader will remember the picture of the
Sacred Heart which at the request of Dr.
Laroque-Tremaria, Victoire had given him.
The correspondence of the two brothers had
been seized and the passages referring to the
badge carefully noted. In one of his letters,
the naval officer begged his brother to thank
Victoire and tell her that the Heart would
accompany him in all his engagements with
the enemy. The harmless religious symbol,
in the suspicious eyes of the votaries of the
Revolution, instantly became a seditious
emblem used with the object of stirring up
rebellion against the Republic. Victoire
defended herself with much skill. Her
frank truthfulness seemed to make a favour
able impression upon her judges : for the
time being, at least, she succeeded in con
vincing them that the badge was merely
an emblem of piety and devotion. Her
examination had lasted several hours. No
THE SHADOW DEEPENS 67
sooner was it over than Victoire hastened to
reassure her anxious parents and friends.
She flattered herself that the danger was
past : alas ! it was only postponed.
Nine months later the public prosecutor of
Paris, the ferocious Fouquier-Tinville, had
the case well in hand. Alexander and
Victor Laroque-Tremaria were sentenced to
death for plotting against the Republic, one
of the proofs brought forward by the in
famous Fouquier being : The Heart of the
Fanatics, rallying-sign of the Vendeans, sent
by the ex-nun Saint-Luc to Victor Laroque-
Tremaria. Victoire was not aware that the
Sacred Heart was the rallying-sign of the
Vendeans. She had given the badge to the
Doctor some time before the rising took
place ; but of course in the eyes of the
Republic this was a negligible detail. It
was also convenient to pass over the fact
that she had been accustomed to make and
distribute similar emblems from her child
hood. The sole pre-occupation of the public
prosecutor was to secure — not justice but
the condemnation of his victims. When
68 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
the time was ripe the wolf was at no loss for
an excuse to devour the lamb.
In the meanwhile, the Countess and her
daughters Victoire and Euphrasie, were
authorised to return to Bot. The Count
had been in prison for some months, but
was now released and allowed to accompany
them. This was not his first imprisonment :
the fact that he was an aristocrat made him
a " suspect " ; he was, moreover, a fervent
Christian who had harboured " refractory "
priests ; two of his sons had joined the
" emigres " ; one of his daughters painted
pictures of the Sacred Heart : the Republic
was not exacting : in those days of " liberty,
equality, fraternity," it required far fewer
qualifications in its aspirants to the honours
of the guillotine.
Once more the harassed family settled
down to the old home life, but their hearts
were heavy within them. The Countess in
particular appears to have had a strong fore
boding that it was for the last time. For
years, this perfect type of the truly valiant
woman had been asking God for the spirit
THE SHADOW DEEPENS 69
of martyrdom. Nor had she asked in vain.
Several weeks passed quietly away. They
were almost beginning to forget their ap
prehensions and to hope that after all they
might perhaps be suffered to remain in peace
in their secluded dwelling, when, one morn
ing, the cook rushed home from market
in a violent state of alarm and agitation.
To their anxious questions, she replied, be
tween her sobs, that a troop of gendarmes
was on its way to the chateau : the master
was to be taken to Carhaix ; the ladies to
the prison of Faou. This news was shortly
afterwards confirmed by the arrival of the
troop. They had received orders, they said,
to convey all the family to Carhaix.
The relief of knowing that they would
at least have the consolation of sharing
the same prison somewhat softened the
blow. The Count was suffering from an
acute attack of rheumatism, but he was
obliged, notwithstanding, to rise from his
sick bed.
The departure was inexpressibly sad. The
broken-hearted old servants loudly lamented
70 VICTOIRE JDE SAINT-LUC
the loss of their much -loved masters. Ten
ants and villagers lined the way from the
chateau, all testifying, by their attitude, and
by their tears, to the love and veneration in
which these aristocrats, at least, had been
held.
The journey was full of hardships and
discomfort of every sort ; the party stopped
for the night at Chateaulin, and next day
proceeded to Carhaix. After many weary
hours the towers of the old Breton city
appeared in view. At this sight the
" O crux Ave " burst spontaneously from
the lips of the poor captives.
The prison into which they were now
thrown had formerly been an Augustinian
Convent, from which the nuns had been ex
pelled in the preceding year. The " patriots "
had pillaged it in their usual thorough and
conscientious fashion, leaving it filthy and
stripped of every commodity. There were
no tables or chairs, not even a miserable
pallet on which the unfortunate Count could
stretch his aching limbs. Their first meal,
which consisted of some wretched soup, dry
THE SHADOW DEEPENS 71
bread and water, was served on the bare
ground.
So much for the place; the society was
not much better. Two hundred persons of
every rank and grade of opinion were crowded
together in a house formerly inhabited by
thirty nuns. Amongst these a few black
guards added greatly to the general distress
and misery by their bad language, oaths, and
blasphemies.
Little by little, however, the ascendancy
of Victoire's sanctity began to make itself
felt even in this abode of wretchedness.
The spirit of her vocation was strong within
her ; her desire to win souls to God keener
than ever. When she had surrounded her
parents with all the devoted care and affec
tionate attention which filial love could
inspire, her ingenious charity suggested to
her a multitude of little ways of relieving
the necessities and the suffering of the
unfortunates around her. Her unselfish
ness and thoughtful kindness succeeded in
breaking down barriers erected by pride
and irreligion ; fortresses hitherto jealously
72 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
guarded, and never before known to capitu
late, yielded to her compassionate sweetness,
and she would taste the joy which to her
surpassed all others, of handing them over
to their legitimate Lord and Master.
One poor soul in particular she won to
God's service in a somewhat novel fashion.
Amongst the prisoners was a young man
who prided himself on his irreligion and
atheism. He lost no opportunity of scoffing
at religion and of blaspheming God. Having
heard from some of his companions that
Victoire was an ex-nun, the very sight of her
seemed to exasperate him, and to excite in
him the most violent paroxysms of truly
satanic rage. Victoire was informed of this
and she immediately had recourse to fervent
prayer. She wrote verses with facility, and
obeying a sudden inspiration she addressed
some lines to the unfortunate young man
who, flattered by the attention, answered
in the same fashion. Thereupon a literary
tournament ensued which ended in the com
plete conversion of the young sceptic.
Whilst the weary months dragged on,
THE SHADOW DEEPENS 7B
Victoire's brightness and buoyancy of spirit
lit up the gloomy prison and made it seem
less intolerable to many a sorrowing heart.
A few passages from a letter written at this
time will best illustrate her cheerful gaiety
and, at the same time, her indomitable energy
which could thus afford to make light of
her own misfortunes. With an unconscious
touch of Shakesperian humour she blends
the tear and the smile in the following
lines :—
" For want of fresh anecdotes, I must
conclude by saying a few words on the ad
vantages of being in prison.
" You are no longer like a bird on the
bough, uncertain at night whether you will
be allowed to sleep peacefully until morning.
Here in prison, on the contrary, on rising
from your pallet you have at least the sweet
assurance and the tranquil confidence that
it will be awaiting you in the same place at
night.
" You are also delivered from all fear of
being taken prisoner, since it is now an ac-
corrfplished fact.
74 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
" You can also abandon yourself to the
delights of imagination, and picture to your
self that you may one day again be free and
able to walk abroad."
This brave cheerfulness was the fruit of
her great virtue, for Victoire suffered like
the others, and even more than they: her
love for the Church made her endure a
veritable martyrdom. But her pain and
anguish she kept for herself ; her brightness
and serenity she gave to others. In her
private notes she writes : " My soul is
sorrowful even unto death. I feel as if the
anguish of death had encompassed me, and
as if I had become incapable of any other
feeling but that of suffering.
" What caused Thy Agony in that lonely
Cxarden, O My Divine Saviour ? Not the
anticipation of Thy sufferings which Thou
didst ardently long for, but the thought of
the multitude of souls that would still be
lost in spite of Thy Passion and Death.
" I think that I, too, can say, in all truth,
that it is not so much the perspective of the
misery and tribulations in store for me —
THE SHADOW DEEPENS 75
and of which Thou alone canst foresee the
end — which afflicts me ; but rather the
thought of the terrible trials to which Thy
faithful ministers are exposed by the decrees
which are fulminated against them. What
anguish to think that Thy priests are being
betrayed in a land that was once so Catholic !
The more they are despised and persecuted
the more I love and venerate them. I
would gladly lay down my life for theirs.
" Everything, O my God, seems to add
to my affliction. Thou art continually
sinned against, both in word and in deed.
In this prison, where every one ought to be
striving to prepare for death, nothing is
thought of but amusements and vain pre
texts for killing time. Thou art forgotten,
neglected, offended, rejected even by those
who are supposed to be Thy friends.
" I implore thee, O my God, to have
mercy on me and on all mankind. Deign
to apply the merits of Thy Passion and
Death to our souls. By Thy sufferings
sanctify ours arid make them serve to expiate
our sins. Amen."
76 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
Victoire could indeed say in all sincerity
that she participated in the agony of her
Divine Saviour. Her own personal suffer
ings were of little account : but the woes of
the Church ; the persecution of God's priests ;
the multitude of souls left like sheep with
out a shepherd ; the crimes of men : all
these evils wrung the heart of this true
daughter of the Church whose one thought
was the interest of God and His glory.
Like her Divine Master in the Garden of
Gethsemane, she too was but at the begin
ning of her passion. The time had now
arrived when she was to advance further
on her road to Calvary.
CHAPTER IX.
THE CRIMINAL PRISON OF QUIMPER.
. . . the hour of sleep
To me came rarely charged with natural gifts —
Such ghastly visions had I of despair,
And tyranny and implements of death ;
And levity in dungeons, where the dust
Was laid with tears. Then suddenly the scene
Changed, and the unbroken dream entangled me
In long orations, which I strove to plead
Before unjust tribunals, with a voice
Labouring, a brain confounded, and a sense
Death-like, of treacherous desertion, felt
In the last place of refuge — my own soul.
— WORDSWORTH.
ON the 31st January, 1794, two gendarmes
presented themselves at the prison of Car-
haix with orders to conduct Victoire to
Quimper. In spite of her wonderful calm
and self-possession, she turned pale on hear
ing the ominous news, but quickly regained
77
78 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
her composure. Not so her unfortunate
parents who were completely overwhelmed
by this fresh calamity.
The next day, mounted on a sorry steed,
Victoire set out between the two gendarmes.
They stayed the night at Pleyben, and on
2nd February, anniversary of the day on
which twelve years before Victoire had
entered La Retraite, they arrived at Quim-
per. In a letter to Mme. de Marigo, Vic
toire gives some details of her journey in
her own bright fashion. They lost their
way on leaving Pleyben, and she goes on to
say : " The roads were simply atrocious-
more water than land. My horse was half
blind and had only one stirrup. When I
first saw the animal he was minus the bridle,
luckily, I absolutely insisted on having one,
or I should have broken my neck, for he
fell rather badly once. I was able, thank
God, to raise him again with the help of the
bridle, and I was not a bit hurt.
" The rain kept us company more often
than the sun : it fell simply in torrents, and
the violence of the wind made it still more
THE PRISON OF QUIMPER 79
distressing. I could truthfully say that I
was sometimes between two floods, and I
took a bath, most cooling to the blood
however overheated. My complexion, too,
needed freshening up a little, and, I assure
you, that it got it. Of course all this is but
the prelude to the toilet for Paris."
Victoire does not say that during the
painful journey she met many of her old
retreatarits who gave vent to their grief on
seeing her in such a terrible situation. It
was she who comforted and consoled them,
her face lit up the while with her peculiarly
radiant smile.
Her intimate impressions of the journey
Victoire confided to her spiritual diary.
After recalling to mind that happy day
twelve years ago, when in the joy of her
heart she had dedicated herself to God and
to the work of retreats, she adds : " But
must not to-day (2nd February) be dear to
me too, though in another fashion, since it
enables me to consecrate myself to the Cross,
as a victim not merely resigned but even
eager to be immolated ? If my first oblation
80 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
was pleasing, O my God, in Thy sight,
Thou didst regard, I firmly trust, with no
less favour the sacrifice I offered Thee this
day, when buffeted by wind and rain and
riding on a sorry beast between two gen
darmes, I journeyed on uncertain of my des
tination which has turned out to be the
criminal prison of Quimper. As I rode
painfully along, what were my reflections
when I contrasted to-day with this day
twelve years ago ! Still in spite of the re
pugnance of nature, how great was my con
solation when I ventured to compare my
journey with Thy way to Calvary, when
exposed to the outrages and insults of Thy
enemies, Thou didst carry the heavy burden
of the Cross. What a privilege to have
some marks of resemblance with my Divine
Spouse ! "
Next day Victoire was cited to appear
before the revolutionary tribunal, as ac
complice in the Laroque-Tremaria case.
The warrant for her arrest was signed by
Fouquier-Tinville himself.
When she had been informed of the
THE PRISON OF QUIMPER 81
nature of the charge brought against her,
Victoire added the following lines to the
letter to Mme. de Marigo already referred
to : "I have been arrested for the affair of
the Badge. If I am put to death I can
truly say that it will be against all justice,
and I shall die for a holy cause. If 1 obtain
this great favour from the Heart of Jesus,
I ought to look on it as a second Baptism
which will purify me from my sins.
" Do not be too distressed, dear Mother,
at your daughter's fate. Join with her
courageously in offering the sacrifice when
God shall require its consummation. So
far we have had no martyrs in the family.
What a privilege and a joy if I were the
first ! What surprises me most is that God
should choose me despite my weakness and
unworthiness ; but it is precisely in this that
His Great Mercy becomes apparent. I
esteem it a special favour due to the inter
cession of my holy uncle, in order that I
may be enabled to expiate my sins.
" In the same way I value the strength
and peace and even dare I say it ? the joy
82 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
and consolation that I feel in being counted
worthy like the Apostles and holy Confessors
to suffer for the name of Jesus.
" Adieu perhaps until Eternity."
The inmates of the criminal prison of
Quimper, though fewer in number were even
more objectionable than those of Carhaix.
The cell in which Victoire found herself
confined was already occupied by twelve
young English sailors, prisoners of war, be
sides several women convicted of stealing,
and various other shady characters.
When it became known in the town that
Victoire was in the criminal prison, many
persons flocked to see her. She was greatly
beloved and esteemed in Quimper both for
her own virtue and also for the sake of her
uncle, who had left undying regret in the
hearts of his people. The " Patriots," afraid
of a popular rising in her favour, immedi
ately issued the strictest orders that nobody
should be admitted to see her. Her sister
Angelique (Mme. de Silguy), on hearing of
Victoire's imprisonment, hastened to Quim-
per, and by dint of bribes succeeded in
THE PRISON OF QUIMPER 83
gaining over the hitherto intractable jailer.
To her sorrow Mine, de Silguy could come
but once a week to the prison ; she inhabited
the Chateau de Mesmeur at some distance
from the town ; and her family was a
numerous one, the youngest being an infant
only four months old.
It is to Ang^lique that we owe most of
the details of these last months of Victoire's
life. She touches briefly on the fearful state
of the criminal prison — its infection and its
filth — she mentions too the persecution and
insults to which her sister was subjected by
some of the prisoners, who on being told
that Victoire was an ex-nun, immediately
showed symptoms of the same strange frenzy
which had taken possession of the young
infidel at Carhaix.
Two episodes of this time chosen from
amongst many will give us some faint notion
of what Victoire had to endure, and will at
the same time throw a vivid light on her
heroic charity.
Amongst the prisoners were two viragoes
utterly destitute of all feelings of common
84 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
humanity. Victoire instantly singled them
out as the objects of her special charity.
Not content with sharing with them what
ever food she had, she deprived herself of
her linen to give to them also. But the in
human creatures repaid her kindness by
stealing the little which she still possessed,
and, moreover, beat her so cruelly that her
face was torn and bruised, and one of her
arms almost wrenched from its socket.
Victoire never uttered a complaint at this
ill-treatment ; the jailer and her sister's dis
figurement enlightened Mine, de Silguy.
Victoire revenged herself according to the
manner of the saints, by nursing one of these
women with the most devoted care during
an illness which she contracted in the prison.
Another recipient of her charity was a
poor old man who had earned his living by
selling salt. He was taken up for crying :
" Vive le Roy ". Not long after he had a
violent attack of dysentery. The " Patriots,"
with their usual humanity, refused to allow
him to be transported to the hospital. In
that dreadful place, where the most simple
THE PRISON OF QUIMPER 85
sanitary arrangements were absolutely lack
ing, the state of the unfortunate old man
was so appalling that no one would even go
near him. As soon as Victoire heard of it,
she immediately constituted herself his nurse,
rendering him every service however revolt
ing to nature. She sat by him during his
sleepless nights consoling him and talking to
him of God. At her sweet school he became
an apt pupil, and quickly learnt to understand
and appreciate the joy austere of suffering.
CHAPTER X.
THE ANGEL OF THE PRISON.
Her angel face
As the great eye of heaven, shyned bright,
And made a sunshine in the shady place.
— SPENSER.
EVEN the most lawless characters in that
grim abode could not but admire Victoire's
heroic sanctity which manifested itself in
acts such as those recorded in the preced
ing chapter. The unearthly beauty of her
countenance, reflecting the lovely soul
within, struck the most careless and unob
servant, and they called her " The Angel of
the Prison ". She had sometimes permission
to walk in the dark and gloomy prison-yard
which no ray of sunshine ever visited, but to
those who saw her she appeared as if walk
ing in a garden of delight.
And yet at times the conflict between
86
THE ANGEL OF THE PRISON 87
nature and grace raged fiercely within her.
She herself bears witness to the fact in a
letter which she wrote to Mine, de Lar-
chantel : " I feel at present," she writes, " the
two wills of which St. Paul speaks : one
which trembles and shrinks at the sight of
suffering, the other which rejoices knowing
how precious and salutary is the cross in the
eyes of Faith. I am sometimes tempted to
exclaim : ' My God, if it be possible let this
chalice pass from me,' but like Our Divine
Saviour, I add quickly, ' yet not my will
but Thine be done V
To increase her merit, her Divine Master
allowed this virile and generous soul who
had never ceased to thirst for suffering to
be assailed by something of the same re
pugnance which He, the Saviour of Mankind,
had deigned to experience, in order to con
sole and strengthen our weakness, so easily
cast down by pain and anguish.
Victoire was aware that the end wTas fast
approaching. Rumours had reached her that
she was shortly to proceed to Paris, and she
knew only too well what that meant.
88 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
Not long after her arrival in the criminal
prison she had addressed a Memorial to
Fouquier-Tinville : its object was to prove
beyond the possibility of a doubt that the
sending of the Badge of the Sacred Heart
had been a religious and not, as it was
asserted, a political act. She also demanded
to be tried at Quimper or at Brest rather
than at Paris.
It was not for nothing that Victoire was
an ex-President's daughter. The Memorial
is cleverly drawn up, and she pleads her
cause with much skill. But what hope
could there be of justice from unjust and
sanguinary judges ?
It was not fear of death which had
prompted Victoire's action : she had always
longed to be a martyr, but she rightly and
wisely proved that if she were put to death,
it would be on the score of religion and
not for a political crime. This Memorial is
Victoire's own testimony to the fact that
she died a martyr.
The petition, needless to say, was rejected.
Victoire was guarded so carelessly that
THE ANGEL OF THE PRISON 89
she could easily have escaped from prison,
and she was frequently urged by her friends
to make the attempt. But apart from the
fact that her delicate charity would never
have allowed her to compromise her jailer,
nothing, she declared, could ever induce her
to forego her crown of martyrdom.
During her imprisonment, the trial she
had felt most acutely was the privation of
the Sacraments. And now a great longing
took possession of her to receive a last ab
solution before setting out on the much-
dreaded journey to Paris. In her distress
she had recourse to the great St. Francis
Xavier, and earnestly besought him to
obtain for her this favour. God heard the
prayer of His faithful servant. Under what
circumstances we shall let Victoire herself
relate : she writes to Mme. de Larchantel :
" How can I describe the anguish I ex
perienced when a week ago, an unfortunate
priest, Monsieur Riou, Cur£ of Lababan, was
brought here. He was to be guillotined
next day. 1 tried in vain to bribe the
jailer to let me see him : every effort was
90 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
useless. I was extremely sad, and felt 1
simply could not abandon all hope of seeing
him. I passed the night plunged in grief,
imploring God to come to my aid and in
voking St. Francis Xavier to whom I was
making a novena to obtain this very favour.
"At last on Monday morning our door
was opened for a little while, and I stole
quietly out and went as far as his room. I
called to him and told him how much I
should like to go to Confession. He an
swered at first that it would be no easy
matter, for he was afraid of my compromis
ing myself. My ardent desire, however,
overcame every difficulty. One of the pris
oners played sentry at the foot of the stair
case : he was to whistle if the jailer came
along. The prisoners who shared M. Riou's
cell had been to Confession during the night.
They told me that they would withdraw to
the other end of the room. But even if they
had overheard me a little, I should not have
minded. I made my confession through the
door. I had no time to go into details, but
God Who sees the heart and also the circum-
THE ANGEL OF THE PRISON 01
stances in which we are placed, is satisfied
with what we are able to give Him. This
last absolution has filled me with joy. I
feel that it has given me fresh strength. I
look upon it as a special grace bestowed by
God in order to prepare me for further
trials.
" We mutually encouraged each other—
I should have liked so much to have had a
longer talk with him. He is a real saint and
a martyr of Jesus Christ. He went forth
to die as though to his triumph, with that
tranquil heroism which religion alone in
spires. His guards could scarcely keep up
with him, so eager was he to reach the place
of execution. My sacrifice is made, I assure
you, and could I but have accompanied him
that day to the guillotine, I should have
been overjoyed. He promised to pray for
me in Heaven and bequeathed to me all
his little objects of piety. I am sending his
rosary and a little cross for you and Charlotte
(Mme. de Marigo) to share between you.
Adieu perhaps for the last time."
It would be hard to find even in the acts
92 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
of the martyrs a more beautiful or more
touching scene than this confession in the
prison, and the interview between the two
future martyrs.
CHAPTER XI.
THE OVERFLOWING CHALICE.
The discipline of earthly pain suffices
To unfilm pure eyes to mysteries of grace
Withheld from worldly sight. Austerer pain
Unfilms them to the mysteries of glory :
Not servile pain, not selfish : greater pain
Born of a greater love.
— A. DE VERE.
VICTOIRE'S presentiment that this great
grace had been accorded merely to strengthen
her for greater trials proved but too true.
A fortnight later, whilst she and Mme. de
Silguy were engaged in conversation, the
jailer's voice resounded through the prison :
" Mile, de Saint-Luc, here are your papa and
mamma ".
The poor Count was carried in upon a
stretcher. The Countess, leaning for sup
port on two persons, advanced slowly and
93
94 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
painfully along. Victoire and Angelique,
completely overcome with emotion, threw
themselves at their feet and could only kiss
their hands and bathe them with their tears,
unable to utter a word.
The Count embraced them tenderly,
mingling his tears with theirs. "It is not
our painful position," he said, " which makes
my tears flow, but simply the joy of seeing
you both again before I die."
The Countess with that indomitable
energy which characterised her, shed no
tears. " Rise, my dear children," she said,
" and do not weep, you must not bewail our
lot. Are we not only too happy to share
the prison and chains of the Confessors of
Jesus Christ ? How often together have we
not admired their combats and their victories ?
Let us rejoice then to be counted worthy to
suffer for the name of Jesus."
The other prisoners were profoundly
moved by this affecting scene and preserved
a deep silence. The English sailors were
eager to know what it all meant. When it
was explained to them they recorded the
THE OVERFLOWING CHALICE 95
touching incident in their prison Journal :
they lost no opportunity after this of show
ing their respect and sympathy for the illus
trious prisoners.
The transfer of the unfortunate Count and
Countess from the prison of Carhaix to that
of Quimper was owing to the fact that
Fouquier-Tinville had had the barbarity to
add their names to that of Victoire's as ac
complices in the Laroque-Tremaria case :
" Saint-Luc pere et la femme Saint-Luc
a celui de la demoiselle Saint-Luc Dame de
la Retraite, ex-religieuse a Quimper."
This was, without doubt, the bitterest drop
in Victoire's already overflowing chalice.
" My suffering is nothing," she repeated to
her sister, " but to see my parents in this
frightful position causes me such anguish,
that if God did not sustain me I should
certainly die of grief."
To increase her agony her parents, worn
out by fatigue and by the violent emotions
they had lately experienced, fell dangerously
ill. With the refinement of cruelty they
were placed apart from the others and all
96 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
access to them was strictly forbidden. Mme.
de Silguy was again fortunate enough to
touch the jailer's hard heart. Leaving her
husband and young children at the Chateau
de Mesmeur, she took up her abode in her
house at Quimper, and for ten days she had
the mingled joy and pain of nursing her
beloved parents in their illness. At break
of day she came to the prison, and left it
only at night-fall. The day before their de
parture for Paris, however, she was refused
admittance. All her tears and her entreaties
were in vain : nothing could avail to obtain
for her the favour of a last farewell and
blessing.
Before leaving Quimper, Victoire wrote to
take leave of Mme. de Marigo : —
" Before starting on the long and terrible
journey which will, in all probability, conduct
us to our grave, I wish, my dear Charlotte,
to bid you and dear Constance (Mme. de
Larchantel) a last good-bye. It is to-morrow,
Friday, without fail, that we are setting out ;
partly in a tumble- down vehicle accorded as
a special favour and lent out of charity to
THE OVERFLOWING CHALICE 97
my parents, and partly in a cart. The
weather is so unsettled that we shall probably
travel as much by water as by land. But
all this is nothing compared to the misery
which awaits us and of which we have had a
slight sample here. It would be difficult to
add anything to what we have already ex
perienced or to the manner in which we have
been treated. Had we been the greatest
criminals it could not have been any worse.
But we find strength and consolation in the
testimony of our conscience and in the
thought of Our Lord's sufferings.
" The arrival of poor papa and mamma,
I must confess, nearly overwhelmed me.
The fear of having to leave behind me one
or the other or perhaps both of them ill in
some prison, is my greatest anxiety.
" Still one must leave all in God's hands.
He sees and disposes everything for our good,
if not in this world, at least, in eternity.
" The courage of my parents has stirred
up mine. God bestows many graces upon
them.
" We are going like sheep to the slaughter.
7
98 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
To judge by appearances there is little hope
of our coming out of this alive.
" They will put to us a number of captious
questions, and as we will never betray either
truth, or honour, or conscience, it will not
be difficult for them to find some way of
convicting us.
" Papa and mamma are accused of cor
responding with Emigres, and also of being
accomplices in the Laroque-Tremaria affair :
one is guillotined for much less now-a-days,
not to mention our original sin [being aris
tocrats] and the fact that we were wealthy.
But at present one has no wish to live, nor
can anyone fear to die.
" The prospect of this frightful journey is
worse than the guillotine, which after all
lasts only an instant. But we have to drain
the chalice to the dregs and follow, bravely,
the path of suffering, poverty, misery, and
contempt which opens out wide before us.
" This season of Our Lord's Passion upon
which we are about to enter will help to
strengthen us during our passion, for so in
deed we may call it ; this journey will be
THE OVERFLOWING CHALICE 99
nothing but one long agony, a preparation
for the sacrifice of blood to which, in all
probability, God calls us.
" May these earthly sorrows save us from
those that are eternal. We can say now
that we are beginning to be true disciples of
Jesus Christ since He has given us a share
in His sufferings.
" We are no longer allowed to see our
consoling angel (Mme. de Silguy). It is a
great sacrifice. She will tell you all about
our existence here. You can simply form
no idea of it. Every possible kind of dis
comfort for body, mind, and heart, at the
same time: it makes us almost desire our
departure.
" We shall sleep at the different prisons,
so at least there will be a little variety in our
misery. If you are able to write to Euph-
rasie give her news of us. We shall be
twenty-five days on the way and shall
reach our destination at the end of Paschal
time.
"Pray, dearest friends, that God may
strengthen our courage and give us all the
100 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
graces necessary for the terrible conflict be
fore us.
" I am told to finish this quickly and to
go to bed. I would willingly spend the
night talking to you, but I must obey.
" Adieu — remember us, and especially me,
after our death. You know how fondly
I love you. Good-bye till Eternity.
" All my regret now is that I did not de
rive more good from all the means of sancti-
fication which I enjoyed whilst in your holy
society. But I put all my trust in God's
mercy. He will, I hope, accept all this in
expiation of my sins. Amen."
CHAPTER XII.
THE LAST JOURNEY.
The Lord is my light and my salvation : Whom
shall I fear ? The Lord is the protector of my life : of
whom shall I be afraid?
While the wicked draw nigh me to eat my flesh, my
enemies that trouble me have themselves been weakened
and have fallen. — Ps. xxvi.
THE date fixed for their departure was 4th
April, 1794. It was the first Friday of the
month. Who could fail to see the hand of
Divine Providence in this coincidence ? On
what more fitting day could she go forth
to death, who was about to lay down her
life for propagating devotion to the Sacred
Heart ?
During the journey Victoire was able on
two occasions to write to her sister An-
gelique. These letters were strictly cen
sored by their guards ; it was, therefore,
101
102 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
necessary to avoid anything of a compromis
ing nature. They suffice, however, to show
that God watched over His faithful ones
with loving care. The journey evidently
proved less painful than Victoire had antici
pated, though she would naturally paint the
brightest side of the picture and avoid adding
to her sister's already crushing sorrow. A
few, at least, of their guards appeared to
have some sparks of humanity and compas
sion still smouldering within them.
She wrote from Quimperl£ on Saturday
evening : —
" Not wishing to compromise either you or
anybody else, I asked whether it would be
possible to give you news of our journey.
"I have been given both permission to
write and also the promise that my letter
shall be delivered to you. I will therefore
profit by this opportunity and talk to you
for a little while.
" We left Quimper without any regret
since we could no longer have the consola
tion of seeing you.
" Up to the present we have been more
THE LAST JOURNEY 103
fortunate and have had fewer tribulations
than we expected. We have been lucky
enough to have honest and kind-hearted
guards who, instead of lodging us in the
criminal prison, took us to an inn which
seems like a magnificent palace after the
frightful place we have just left.
" Yesterday at Rosporden we also slept
at the inn. They were not at first inclined
to receive us, as they had troops billeted
there. But a room with three beds was
commandeered. We made room for the
four of us by placing our mattresses close to
gether and like that we were very comfort
able ; in lieu of pillows our parcels and
petticoats stood us in good stead. Thank
God, we are not hard to please. We have
had so much to put up with that it takes
very little to accommodate us.
" Here we have two splendid rooms. As
for the rain which we so much dreaded,
God had pity on us : it rained after we got
here and continued raining during the night.
" Good-bye, dearest, comfort yourself, and
remember we are in the arms of Divine
104 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
Providence Who is a tender mother. We
embrace you and all your dear ones with all
our heart. Papa and mamma are pretty
well although rather tired.
" We have had no incidents of any kind
up to the present."
The second letter is written from Alen-
con and dated 21st April : —
" I dared not write, dearest, though I
wished to so much, but I have been told that
I may do so in order to give you news. Thank
God we are well, though of course papa and
mamma feel the fatigue of the journey.
"The roads were rather bad when we
first started, but from Rennes onwards they
have been ever so much smoother and the
weather is beautiful. The view of the
country is delightful just now, and the hill
side with its boscage looks so picturesque.
" Up to the present our vehicle has be
haved very well and played us no tricks, so
we are very much obliged to it, and have
every hope that it will convey us safely to our
journey's end, which is not very far distant
now : for we are only 165 miles from Paris.
THE LAST JOURNEY 105
"You can thank Divine Providence for
us, dearest ; we have experienced Its loving
care all along the way. We have been
most fortunate in having honest and com
passionate guards who have had pity on
us.
" Good-bye, dearest, our love to all. You
know how dearly I love you.
" VICTOIRE."
A week later they arrived in Paris and
were imprisoned in the Conciergerie where
they remained for nearly three months. We
have fewer details of this period of their
captivity. Whilst in the prison of Quimper
\rictoire had been allowed balls of wool and
cotton for her needlework ; in some of these
balls she was able, from time to time, to hide
a letter which was then conveyed by a trust
worthy person to its destination. She had
riot the same good fortune in Paris ; though
she wrote often, none of her letters ever
reached her friends, save one brief note
written shortly before the execution.
We know, however, that the Angel of the
Prisons of Carhaix and Quimper was no less
106 V1CTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
a ministering spirit in the prison of the
Conciergerie.
From Mme. de Silguy we learn that
Victoire and her parents did all in their
power to relieve the distress of their fellow-
sufferers, sharing with the most indigent
the little money which they still possessed.
Their holiness and the example of their
heroic patience touched the hearts of several
who were thus brought back to the practice
of their religion.
The saintly captives devoted most of their
time to prayer, especially to the meditation
of the Passion and Death of Our Lord. In
this way they prepared for the end which
they felt was fast approaching. Each day
they recited the Litany of the Dying, for on
rising in the morning, they never knew but
that day might be their last. The guillotine
was like some demon-god set up by France
upon her desecrated altars to whom she had
pledged herself to furnish a daily toll of
victims ; and no day passed but some of
their companions in misfortune went forth
to slake its deadly thirst for blood.
CHAPTER XIII.
MARTYRDOM.
The example of Our Lord has made the martyrs ; and
the example of the martyrs leads us upwards to Him.
Their blood softens our hearts ; His alone cleanses our
souls. Theirs pleads for mercy ; His bestows it.
— WISEMAN.
AMONGST the prisoners in the Conciergerie
were many priests, heroic confessors of the
Faith. Victoire and her parents had thus
an opportunity of going to confession, the
strength and consolation of which they had
been deprived in the other prisons. To their
great regret and bitter disappointment they
were unable to receive Holy Communion
even once.
Victoire throughout the whole of her
captivity had never ceased to paint and to
embroider Badges of the Sacred Heart, and
to distribute them to her fellow-prisoners.
107
108 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
She had done so at Carhaix and at Quimper,
and she continued her work of love even in
the Conciergerie itself. Thus to the very
end of her earthly career she was faithful
to her mission of spreading devotion to the
Sacred Heart.
With her customary thoughtfulness for
others she prepared some little souvenirs for
her family and friends. She contrived to
fashion some rings for her brothers and
sisters from her own and from her parents'
hair. Her uncle had given her some very
precious relics : these she placed in reliquaries
which she herself had made. The most
valuable, she destined for L'Abbe Rene* de
Larchantel, brother of her much-loved friend ;
he had been her Confessor for a brief while.
These objects, together with a short note,
were entrusted to a trustworthy messenger.
They were received, alas ! a fortnight after
Victoire's death.
One last trial was to put the finishing
touch to the exquisite work wrought in this
chosen soul by the Supreme Artist : during
the fortnight that preceded the end, Victoire
MARTYRDOM 109
was once more separated from her sorrowing
parents. The anguish of these noble and
long-suffering hearts was immense, but im
mense, too, was their loving abandonment to
God's most Holy Will. Whether Victoire
was removed to another prison or merely
confined in a different cell in the Conciergerie
remains unknown. She was restored to her
parents on the eve of their execution, 18th
July.
On that same day the Count de Saint-Luc
in the name of all three sent the following
adieu to Mme. de Silguy : —
" Paris, Friday, IStk July, 1794,
" Eve of our Trial.
" I embrace all my dear daughters, rela
tions, friends, and servants with all my heart.
Pray for us. Your mother and your sister
wish to say exactly the same to all of you.
Take comfort in the thought that God will
be merciful to us, and that we shall have the
happiness of praying to Him for you all,
since He has given us the grace to prepare
well for death."
On 19th July, 1794 the case was tried in
110 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
the " Palais de Justice " at 10 o'clock in the
morning.
The Revolutionary Tribunal entered first,
they were followed by 'the nineteen jurymen,
and by the prisoners. The accused listened
while the charges brought against them were
read out.
The Public Prosecutor then proceeded to
justify his accusation by bringing forward
proofs of their guilt.
The President next summed up the case,
rapidly reviewing the points upon which the
jury were called to give their verdict.
To the questions : " Victoire Conen Saint-
Luc, 33 years of age, born in Rennes,
dwelling in Quimper, living in an assembly
called ' Maison de Retraites '.
"Gilles Rene Conen Saint- Luc, 75 years
old. Cy-devant Councillor of the Breton
Parliament, ex-noble : Franchise Marie
Duboz Conen Saint-Luc co-accused.
" Are they convicted of having shown
themselves to be enemies of the people : to
wit, by keeping up a correspondence and
understanding with the enemies of the Revo-
MARTYRDOM 111
lution and by seconding the Vendean Rebel
lion, sending Badges, rallying-signs of the
rebels ? " the jury answered in the affirmative ;
whereupon the tribunal condemned Saint-
Luc, father, his wife and his daughter to be
executed.
Victoire was condemned on the one and
only charge of distributing Badges of the
Sacred Heart.
The Count and Countess de Saint-Luc
were condemned not only as accomplices in
the Laroque-Tremaria affair, but also for
corresponding with emigres.
If a last cross had awaited Victoire, God
had also reserved a last consolation for His
faithful servant, and of the kind most prized
and most appreciated by her apostolic soul.
Amongst the other prisoners who were
condemned to die that day was the Mar
quis de X . He was but twenty-three
years of age. His wife, to whom he was
tenderly attached, was still younger. As she
was soon to be a mother she had been ordered
back to prison. The poor young things
clung to each other in a paroxysm of
112 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
despairing grief, the Marquis declaring that
he could not and would not die, and loudly
accusing Divine Providence of his misfor
tunes. Victoire's compassionate heart was
deeply moved by this affecting scene, but
her anxiety for the eternal salvation of this
soul overcame every other consideration.
Drawing near, with her usual sweet per
suasiveness, she spoke gently to the un
fortunate young man of the tender mercy
of God and of that Eternity into which she
herself, as well as he, was about to Center.
Her words, accompanied by the unction of
Divine grace, touched the heart of the young
Marquis ; he allowed Victoire to conduct
him to a priest who was in the prison and
was reconciled to God. Strengthened and
consoled by the absolution he had received,
the poor young man met his fate with the
tranquil fortitude of a Christian. This was
Victoire's last conquest on the very brink of
the tomb.
Whilst awaiting the arrival of the fatal
" cart " she got together the little souvenirs
she had already prepared for her family and
MARTYRDOM 113
hurriedly wrote the following lines to Mme.
de Larchantel.
" For X from poor Victoire who is
just about to start for the guillotine ; she
recommends herself after her death to your
prayers and to those of Rene. When you
see him give him a reliquary ; the relics be
longed to my uncle and are quite authentic.
" If, as I firmly trust, I am happy enough
to go to Heaven, I will not forget my dear
companions and friends."
The closing scene of our martyr's life is
worthy to be placed side by side with that
of the sixteen Carmelites of Compiegne, who
were martyred only two days before (17th
July) on the very same spot.
On alighting from the " charette " Victoire
asked " Monsieur le Bourreau " to let her
die first before her father and mother, to
which he immediately consented. Embrac
ing her parents tenderly, Victoire knelt to
receive their blessing, as she had been ac
customed to do each night throughout her
happy childhood. Then rising to her feet
she said in a firm, clear voice : " Dear father,
8
114 V1CTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
dear mother, you have taught me how to
live, with God's grace 1 am going to teach
you how to die," and with a light and joyous
step she mounted the scaffold.
The mortal remains of Victoire and of her
parents were ignominiously thrown into the
common pit. To pilgrims visiting the
cemetery of Picpus, commemorative tablets
point out to-day the spot where the hallowed
remains of the Carmelites of Compiegne and
of Victoire de Saint-Luc await their glorious
resurrection.
AFTER-WORD.
No sooner had the Revolution shown signs
of abating in violence, than Mme. de
Marigo and Mme. de Larchantel endea
voured to re-open the House of Retreats, but
it was not until Christinas, 1805, that their
efforts were crowned with success. To their
great sorrow they were unable to recover
their former dwelling endeared to them, as
it was, by so many sacred ties and memories :
the " Patriots " had converted it into a
barracks. They were obliged for the time
being to take a smaller house, but the joy of
seeing the retreats re-established, consoled
them for every sacrifice and privation.
From the first the women's retreats were
well attended ; but soon " Les Dames de la
Retraite " were warmly urged to allow re
treats for men to be given in their establish
ment. Their ardent zeal made them accede
115 8*
116 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
to this request and even welcome the exten
sion of their work ; but, however, in the case
of men, their efforts were confined solely to
the domestic sphere.
In memory of their martyred sister, Vic-
toire de Saint-Luc, " Les Dames de la Re-
traite" wore a silver Heart and styled
themselves, " Les Filles du Sacre-Cceur de
Jesus," the Quimper retreat being known
henceforth as " La Retraite du Sacre-Coeur ".
In the soil enriched by the martyr's blood
numerous vocations began to blossom, and
Branch Houses shot forth from the vigorous
trunk whose root seemed to have struck but
deeper for the terrible storm which had lately
swept over it. These new foundations
looked to Quimper as to the primitive source
and Mother House of the Institute.
In course of time lay sisters took the place
of the servants of pre-Revolutiori days. As
the members of the Society increased, so
in proportion increased their desire to bind
themselves by the vows of Poverty, Chastity,
and Obedience, and to attain the status of
a Religious Congregation recognised and
AFTER-WORD 117
approved by Rome. The goal of both these
aspirations has long since been reached.
At the urgent request of several of the
French bishops, the work of education, which
had become of paramount importance after
the Revolution, was added to the work of
retreats. In some of the later foundations,
education almost entirely superseded the
retreats, as, for instance, in the English con
vents. Strenuous efforts, however, have
been made to promote a work which must
ever be dear to a Congregation that owes its
very existence to retreats. At La Retraite,
Clapham Park, retreats for men have been
preached.
In the French convents retreats have
thriven apace side by side with education :
the first-born has ceded none of its rights to
the younger child of the Society. Retreats
have proved the salvation of the Congrega
tion in France : in the early years of the
twentieth century, when France had once
more to stand by and witness, with the closing
of her Religious Houses, the proscription of
her religious, both men and women, the
118 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
convents of La Retraite, though shut for
educational purposes, were allowed to remain
open as Houses of Retreat.
In this present day of ours, in the after
math of the evil weeds and seeds which
war has so abundantly strewn over the
world, one of the most pressing needs is
once more the work of retreats. For who
can fail to see that one of the chief causes
of the fearful upheaval which has spread
ruin and desolation throughout Europe is
the betrayal of the rights of God? The
rights of God are repudiated and trampled
under foot. Why then should the rights of
individuals or of nations be treated with
greater respect ? " With desolation is all
the land made desolate," said the prophet,
Jeremy, " because there is none that con-
sidereth in the heart." The world has re
cently witnessed the truth of the oracle ;
would that it might also witness the appli
cation of the remedy !
In this age of ceaseless activity and unrest,
men and women, ere they are utterly con
sumed by life's " fitful fever," need to pause
AFTER- WORD 119
and consider within their hearts the rights of
their Creator, and their own corresponding
duties and obligations as creatures ! It was
precisely for this that retreats were estab
lished. Withdrawn for a few days from the
absorbing cares and occupations which dis
tract the mind and keep it perpetually bowed
down to earth, the soul finds herself brought
face to face, as it were, with God. If she be
in earnest, she will find in this t$te-a-t£te
with the Divinity the answer to some of
the questionings which have never ceased to
perplex and torment humanity : " Whence
came I ? " " Why am I here ? " " Whither
am 1 going ? " " To whom do I belong ? "
As in a smiling oasis planted by the kindly
Hand of Divine Providence in the burning
desert of life, the tired and thirsty soul may
drink deep draughts of life-giving water at
its cool fountains, and savour the fruit of
quiet communing with God in the shade of
its palm trees. Nor will she depart without
laying in store of the heavenly water which
will enable her to traverse in safety what
still remains of the dangerous journey.
120 VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC
May the glorious martyr Victoire de
Saint-Luc by her example and intercession
raise up souls eager to emulate her whole
hearted devotion to this great work ; and
may Houses of Retreat spring up throughout
the universe for the spiritual regeneration
and sanctification of the human race !
PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY THE UNIVERSITY PRESS,
ABBBDBE3
£ '.
BX 4705 .C751 S3 1920 SMC
ST. PATRICK, MOTHER.
VICTOIRE DE SAINT-LUC :
A MARTYR UNDER THE
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