Martyrs of Rochefort (Leonard and 2 Companions)

During the French revolution, the Constituent Assembly in 1789, after confiscating all ecclesiastical property and suppressing religious institutes, decreed the Civil Constitution of the clergy, by which bishops and parish priests had to be elected by popular vote and imposing on the clergy the oath of adherence to the Constitution itself; There were those who joined (sworn clergy) and those who did not want to do so (‘refractory’ clergy).

The Legislative Assembly came to power, raged against the ‘refractory’ clergy, reaching in 1792 to massacring 300 of them, including bishops and priests. The National Convention followed in power, issuing decrees of deportation against the ‘refractory’ clergy by which it was necessary to present oneself spontaneously under penalty of death; thus 2412 priests and religious were struck, deported to three areas of France, of which 829 to La Rochelle (Rochefort), among the latter we find John Baptist Duverneuil, Michael-Aloysius Brulard and Hubert of Saint Claude, three Carmelite priests, who together with their fellow deportees suffered hardships of all kinds, miserable living conditions, cruel mistreatment, because there was a tendency to eliminate them clandestinely; of the Carmelites it is known that they were priests deported in 1793 to La Rochelle, who died of hardships endured with heroic patience and strength of faith.

They were beatified along with 61 other companions of martyrdom, of whom sufficient documentation could be found, by Pope John Paul II, on October 1^st, 1995.

The decree on martyrdom was promulgated on July 2^nd, 1994. The beatification ceremony was held on October 1^st, 1995.