Feast of San Callisto I

San Callisto I, ora pro nobis

October 14th is the Feast of St. Callistus I, second-century Pope and Martyr. A former slave and fugitive, Callistus was sentenced to work in the mines. Eventually pardoned, he was put in charge of a Christian cemetery, now known as the Catacombs of St. Callistus. Ordained as a deacon, he served as an advisor to Pope Zephyrinus. Elected Pope himself in 217, he was merciful in dealing with sinners and built a church in Rome, which became the foundation for the Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere. He is credited with reinvigorating the Ember Days, which are days of fasting and prayer. Murdered in a popular uprising, his body was discarded in a well in 222.

In celebration, we’re posting a prayer to St. Callistus I. The accompanying photo comes courtesy of Father Eugene Carrella. The statue is part of Father Carrella’s impressive collection of religious statuary and relics. Evviva San Callisto I!

Prayer to St. Callistus I

God of mercy, hear the prayers of your people that we may be helped by St. Callistus, whose martyrdom we celebrate with joy. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Medieval Times at the Met

Aquamanile in the form of a Knight on Horseback, copper alloy, German, Lower Saxony, probably Hildesheim, made about 1250

Have you ever woken up one morning and said, “I need to see Medieval art today”? As those who know me can vouch, that happens to me quite often. For obvious reasons, unlike our brethren in our ancestral homeland, we New Worlders have limited access to many of our ancient art forms. However, being a New Yorker we are fortunate to have several world-class institutions with amazing historical treasures. Grabbing a friend, we debated between the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Cloisters and decided to go to the Met simply because it was closer. We plan to visit the Cloisters shortly.

Limestone statue of a boxer,
known as Manneddu, Nuragic,
900-750 BC, Sardinia

During our visit, most of our time was spent in the Medieval Art and European Sculpture and Decorative Arts galleries admiring their extensive Byzantine and medieval collections, but we had to make a short detour into the Greek and Roman Art Galleries to see the limestone statue of a boxer known as Manneddu (Prehistoric and Early Greek Art, Gallery 150). On loan from Sardinia, until 6 December 2023, the magnificent giant dates from the early first millennium BC. The colossus is one of the dozens of warrior figures unearthed at the necropolis in Mont'e Prama ("mountain of palm trees") located on the western side of the island. The first to be exhibited in these United States, it is a rare opportunity to experience the enigmatic Nuragic civilization and a must-see if you’re visiting the museum any time soon.

It would have been a near-perfect visit if not for the decadent multimedia installation “A Metta Prayer” being projected on the walls of the Great Hall. In the past one could just ignore and bypass unsavory works you weren’t interested in, but we were forced to endure the vile imagery and verse while waiting in line to buy our entrance tickets.

Disappointed by the increase in subpar exhibits and the forthcoming anti-Western “perspectives,” woke revisionist placards that will mar the European Paintings galleries this fall, we showed our displeasure by paying way, way beneath the recommended $30 general admission for New York State residents.

I absolutely cherish the Met, but until they return to a more professional standard of curation, they won’t get another dime from us—literally. Only because we had to pay something, we begrudgingly forked over a penny each for our tickets. Furthermore, we will not be buying anything from their gift shops either. Whenever possible, we refuse to support any institution that works against our best interests, and that includes museums that betray their fountainhead of patronage.

~ Giovanni di Napoli, October 13th, Feast of St. Edward the Confessor

Jaharis Byzantine Lectionary, tempera, gold, ink on parchment; leather binding. Written and illuminated about 1100 in Constantinople, probably for Hagia Sophia, the patriarchal seat of the Orthodox Church. Tip of pointer, gold and enamel worked in cloisonné, Byzantine, made about 1080-1150 in Constantinople

Triptych with the Mandylion, oil paint, wood, silver, partly gilded, niello, enamel, sapphies, rubies, spinels, pearls, silk, velvet and leather. Russian, Moscow, the Kremlin Armory Workshops, for the high court official Marfej Timofievich Izmailov in fulfillment of a vow, made in 1637

Chasse with the Crucifixion and Christ in Majesty, gilded copper on a wood core with champlevé enamel, French, Limoges, made about 1180-90

Chasse with the Life of Christ, gilded copper on a wood core with champlevé enamel and glass, French, Limoges, made about 1235-45

Tabernacle of Cherves, champlevé enamel on gilded copper, French, Limoges, excavated at Château-Chesnel, near Cognac, made about 1220-30

Aquamanile in the form of a Knight on Horseback, copper alloy, German, Lower Saxony, probably Hildesheim, made about 1250

Aquamanile in the form of a Crowned Centaur Fighting a Dragon, copper alloy, German, Lower Saxony, possibly Hildesheim, made about 1200-1225

(L) The Visitation attributed to Master Heinrich of Constance, walnut with paint, gilding and rock crystal cabochons, German, from the Abbey of Katharinenthal, Switzerland, made about 1310-20. (R) Shrine of the Virgin, oak with linen covering, paint and gilding, German, Rhine valley, made about 1300

(L) King Clothar and an Attendant, oak with paint, French, from the Church of Recloses, near Fontainbleau, carved and painted about 1500-1525. (R) Saint Stephen, Hans Leinberger (German, active 1511-30), limewood with traces of paint, German, Lower Bavaria, ca. 1525-30

Gemellion (hand basin) with knight on horseback, champlevé enamel on gilded copper, French, Limoges, ca. 1250-75

(L) Saint Martin of Tours, wood with paint and gilding, German, Swabia, carved and painted about 1475-1525. (R) Saint Mary Magdalene or Holy Woman, limestone with traces of paint, French, Champagne, Troyes, ca. 1500-1525

(L) Saint Catherine of Alexandria, walnut, German, lower Rhine valley, carved about 1530. Saint Margaret of Antioch, alabaster with traces of gilding in the hair, French, possibly Toulouse, carved about 1475

(L) Saint Catherine of Alexandria, workshop of Jan Crocq (French, active 1486-1511), limestone with traces of paint, French, Lorraine, ca. 1475-1525. (R) Saint Margaret of Antioch, limestone with paint and gilding, Spanish, Burgos, ca. 1275-1325

Tome effigy bust of Marie de France, Jean de Liege (active about 1361-died 1381), marble with lead inlays, French, from the chapel of Notre-Dame-la-Blanche, Royal Abbey of Saint Denis, Île-de-France, carved about 1381

Canopy from the Tomb of Philip III (the Bold), King of France, Jean d'Arras (active 1297-1307), marble, French, from the Royal Abbey of Saint Denis, Île-de-France, carved 1297-1307

(L) Reliquary Statuette of Saint Christopher, silver and gilded silver, French, Toulouse, probably from the church of Lasbordes, made about 1375-1425. (R) Relief with the Virgin and Child, wackestone with traces of paint, North Italian, carved and painted about 1420-30

* * *

(Above & below) Scenes from A Metta Prayer

Our receipt

Urbain de Quelen and the Battle of Montelibretti

En pel amzer Quelen

Frontispiece from Two Years
in the Pontifical Zouaves

Urbain de Quelen, was from Brittany, France and joined the Papal Zouaves in 1861. The Quelen family has crusader lineage.

In 1249 a Quelen was killed by the side of Robert I, Count of Artois, brother of St. Louis IX, at the battle of Massoura. In 1270, another Quelen died before reaching Tunis with St. Louis IX himself. The Quelen family motto is, "There are always Quelens.”

Having enlisted in the Pontifical Zouaves, Urbain de Quelen obtained his promotion as a Sub-Lieutenant in the summer of 1866 due to an act of bravery. Coming to the aid of a gendarme under attack by two bandits, Quelen killed one and wounded the other, but received a severe wound himself.

While recovering from the wound, he got a bad case of cholera which compelled him to send in his resignation from the Zouaves. However, when the Red shirts invaded in 1867, despite still suffering from his injuries, he rejoined the Papal Zouaves to defend the Papal States from the nationalist intentions of the Italians. Quelen fought to the bitter end on October 13th, 1867 in the Battle of Montelibretti. The town of Montelibretti is in the Lazio region of Italy and only 46 km north of Rome.

The battle witnessed heroism not only from Quelen, but many other Zouaves. As such, it does not do them justice to paraphrase the battle so I will include an account of the battle from the book Two Years in the Pontifical Zouaves (1871) by Joseph Powell.[1]

“Monte Libretti is a fortified village with gates.—(Its natural position flanked on either side by ravines is a strong one.) Some two hundred yards from the gate is a wide and deep ditch, crossed by a stone bridge. It was guarded, and the ninety Zouaves commanded by Lieutenants Guillemin and de Quelen received the enemy's fire at this point and carried the bridge in an instant. They took here ten prisoners, and rapidly ascending the slope towards the gate received the fire of three hundred Garibaldians concealed amongst the vines to the right and left of the road. Charging them with the bayonet, the Zouaves dislodged them and entered the village, but the fire in the streets from the windows was too hot, and they had to retreat to the gate, where an obstinate fight took place. The Garibaldian Major Faseri and his aide-de-camp animated their men, who vastly out numbered the Pontificals; both of them were wounded and dismounted.

“The brave Zouave, Lieutenant Arthur Guillemin, was one of the first killed at the gate of Monte Libretti. Sergeant de la Bergassiere received a bullet in his arm, another bullet carried off his kepi, which he replaced by the red and green kepi of the fallen Garibaldian Major. A Zouave from Marseilles had a wound in the head, a bullet in each 'arm, and lost two fingers of the right hand. He had slain several of the enemy before he retired from the front. In the hospital he said next day, 'I don't understand these Garibaldians. At the first ball they drop. I have had four, and here I am.' An English corporal named Collingridge performed prodigies of valour. He was killed after being seen with his back to the wall defending himself desperately against six Garibaldians. His brother joined the Zouaves the week before. A Belgian corporal (Mercier, from Namur) is named as having distinguished himself extraordinarily. He is among the wounded. A Roman bugler, called Mimi by his comrades, had one hand shattered by a ball; he continued throughout to sound the charge, holding his bugle in the other hand. Sergeant Major Bach, a German Swiss, was particularly conspicuous. He was bathed in blood, but it was the blood of the enemy. He himself did not receive a scratch.

“The Dutchman De Yonghe, a gigantic Hercules, was slain after killing fourteen Garibaldians. Bareheaded, and with his uniform torn to ribbons, he was seen dealing fearful blows with the butt-end of his musket, until, breathless with fatigue, though unwounded, he fell upon his knees and was pierced by a dozen bayonets. Two other Dutch Zouaves, brothers, were also slain. The Sous-Lieutenant de Quelen fought till the last, in worthy emulation of his friend and brother officer Guillemin. He was killed at the end of the action. The fight began at half-past five p.m., and at eight p.m. the Zouaves still held their ground in front of the gate. The night was beautifully calm, and a full moon lit the scene of so much valour.

“At eight p.m., the Garibaldians inside the village closed the gate, leaving a number of their comrades outside who were slain by the Zouaves under command of Sergeant-Major Bach, who kept his ground until four a.m. next day, when, just as he was about to retreat upon Monte Maggiore with his prisoners and wounded, the inhabitants opened the gate, announcing that the Garibaldians had retreated through the opposite gate making for Nerola.”

The accounts of the number of the opposing forces in the engagement of Monte Libretti, do not all agree in every particular, but all concur in stating that the Garibaldians were in immensely superior strength to the Zouaves; the numbers I have seen stated in two different quarters, represent the Garibaldians to have had 1200 men, while the Zouaves had only ninety men, or one small company.

It will have been noticed from the foregoing narration, that although the ninety Zouaves did not succeed at once in dislodging twelve hundred Garibaldians from a strong position, yet it was certainly a victory gained by the Zouaves, as, the Garibaldians having stolen off under cover of the night, the field of battle and the position both remained in the possession of the Pontifical troops. This engagement and victory, having thus been won against such fearful odds as thirteen to one, is worthy of being ranked by the side of the most glorious achievements recorded in history, for although the engagement may not have been so very important in its immediate results,—on account of the small number of men engaged on both sides,—yet it is not always on account of its results that an achievement is immortalised—witness the devotion to death of Leonidas, and three hundred Spartans, at the pass of Thermopylæ—but it is heroism and valour which cause a brilliant action to shine with lustre, and to adorn, in vivid colouring, the page of history.

On reading the authentic accounts given above, who could deny that the Zouaves displayed the greatest heroism, both their commanding officers, one after the other, falling at the head of their company, others, like De Yonghe and Collingridge, fighting like lions, till they fell literally exhausted with fatigue?

Pray for the repose of the soul of Urbain de Quelen and all of the other Papal Zouave hero's who gave their lives at Montelibretti in defense of Pope Pius IX and the Catholic Church.

Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, Pray for us!

By Brendan Cassell (Papal Zouave History @PapalZouaveUS)

[1] Two Years in the Pontifical Zouaves: A Narrative of Travel, Residence and Experience in the Roman States by Joseph Powell, R. Washbourne, 1871, pp. 6-9.

Pieter Jong and the Battle of Montelibretti

Pieter Jong clubbed 14 Red Shirts to
death at the Battle on Montelibretti

Pieter Jong was born on February 24, 1842, in the Netherlands in the small village of Lutjebroek. Over 3000 Dutchmen joined the Papal Zouaves between 1860-1870. Jong joined the Papal Zouaves on February 4, 1866. On his registration form is written: "A guy built like a tree!" In Rome a special large uniform had to be made for him.

On February 21, 1866, shortly after he arrived in the Papal States, Jong sent a letter from his post in Velletri to his family describing an encounter he had with Bl. Pope Pius IX.

Beloved Mother, Brothers and Sisters,

We went to Rome on leave. When we got to the Vatican there were eight more of us, and when we saw His Holiness our hearts were trembling with such a soft and affable countenance. He looks like a man of fifty years old.

He asked where we came from and then we said, "From Holland, Holy Father," he began to smile affably. “Ha, Dutchmen!” he said, and we each got a silver medal and he gave us his blessing, and told us to write directly to our families that he had blessed them all.

He spent the next year training and preparing with the Papal Zouaves for an inevitable attack from the Italians.

The last letter he sent to his mother was from Rome on September 22, 1867. 

You wrote that You would like to see me come home in my Zouave uniform.

It would be strange to you, but a beautiful sight nonetheless. We shall not run ahead of time; something could still happen. Nobody knows what it will be.

Something did happen. In October 1867 Garibaldi invaded the Papal States with 10,000 Red Shirts hell bent on seizing Rome and deposing the Pope, the so-called "shame and plague of Italy.”

A Company of 90 Papal Zouaves commanded by Lieutenants  Guillemin and Quelen Were tasked with liberating the town of Montelibretti, a fortified village with gates that had been seized by 1200 Red Shirts a few nights before, which laid only 46km from Rome. 

Starting at 1730, the fighting quickly intensified and evolved into hand to hand combat by the village gate. Lieutenant Guillemin was one of the first killed. Jong was slain after killing 14 Garibaldians.

A comrade described his last moments:

Bareheaded and with his uniform torn to ribbons, he was seen dealing fearful blows with the butt-end of his musket until, breathless with fatigue, though unwounded, he fell upon his knees and was pierced by a dozen bayonets.

Lieutenant Quelen also fought bravely to the end. Fortunately, their heroic sacrifices were not in vain. By 2000 the Zouaves gained control of the area just outside the gate.

Fearing for their lives, the Garibaldians inside the village closed and reinforced the gate, leaving a number of their comrades outside who were slain by the Zouaves. At 0400 the next day, the Papal Zouaves were about to withdraw when the villagers opened the gate and announced that the Garibaldians had fled during the night.

The battle was over and Montelibretti was back in the hands of the Pope. The company of 90 Papal Zouaves successfully defeated the much larger force of 1200 Red Shirts. 

The 1867 campaign ended in a Papal victory when Garibaldi was forced to retreat back to Italian soil after the battle of Mentana on November 3, 1867. 

The story of Pieter Jong spread through the ranks of the Zouaves and helped with recruitment efforts in the Netherlands. Jong became a local hero, with songs and books written about him. There was even a street sign was named after him.

In 1917 a monument of him was placed outside the Church in Lutjebroek. The monument reads:

Pieter Jong died a heroic death in Monte Libretti

He died for the Pope

The cause of the Pope

Is the cause of God"

To this day the villagers of Lutjebroek keep the memory of Pieter Jong alive.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Bl. Pius IX, pray for us!

By Brendan Cassell (Papal Zouave History @PapalZouaveUS)

Convegno sulla Terra di Lavoro - Distretto di Sora Antica Frontiera

In Atina (RI)

Feast of the Madonna del Pilar

Nostra Signora del Pilar, ora pro nobis

October 12th is the feast of Our Lady of the Pillar, patroness of Aragon, Spain, and Mother of Hispanidad. Celebrating the oldest Marian apparition in Western Europe, which occurred before Our Lady’s bodily Assumption into Heaven, the Mother of God and a choir of angels appeared to a despondent St. James the Greater in Zaragoza to encourage him on his evangelizing mission of the Iberian Peninsula. Giving him a stone column, Our Lady instructed him to build a chapel dedicated to her, which is now the Catedral-Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar in Zaragoza, Spain.

In celebration, we’re posting the prayer of St. John Paul II to Our Lady of the Pillar. The accompanying photo of the Madonna del Pilar was taken at the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church rectory in Newark, New Jersey. Evviva Maria!

Prayer to Our Lady of the Pillar

Holy Virgin of the Pillar: increase our faith, strengthen our hope, revive our charity. Help those who suffer misfortune, those who suffer from loneliness, ignorance or hunger or lack of work. Strengthen the weak in faith. Arouse in the young an availability for a total surrender to God. Amen.

Ponderable Quote from “The End of Democracy” by Christophe Buffon de Chosal

Democracy is a system that bases its decisions on the number of votes, on quantity rather than quality. It is a system that has no fundamental understanding of the concept of goodness. Instead of posing the questions: "Is this decision good? Is this opinion just?" it asks rather: "How many favor this decision or this opinion?" Democracy, in its decision-making process, does not seek the good but numbers. Or rather, being unable to define the good, it surrenders its discovery to numbers, so that the good in democracy becomes what pleases the greatest number. This fundamental relativism is the basis of democracy. It fits into a belief system where the very notions of truth and goodness are inconsistent. At best, democracy can only temporarily obtain peace in society by imposing the majority opinion on the submitting minority. At no moment can it claim that it is seeking, discovering, and imposing the good.

Reprinted from The End of Democracy by Christophe Buffon de Chosal, translated by Ryan P. Plummer, Tumblar House, 2017, p. 127

New Music — Domenico Cimarosa: Organ Sonatas From Keyboard Sonatas Volumes I & II

New music that may be of interest to our readers.

• Domenico Cimarosa: Organ Sonatas From Keyboard Sonatas Volumes I & II performed by Giuseppe Rigliaco

Label: Da Vinci
Release Date: August 5, 2023
Audio CD: $19.24
Number of Discs: 1

Available at Amazon.com

Read description

Taking Our Side

The soldiers of Islam are loading their guns

They're getting ready

But the Russian tanks are mowing them down

They're getting ready

There's children in Africa with Tommy Guns

Getting ready

While the Islam armies are beckoning on

Getting ready *

As always, our thoughts and prayers go out to the innocent victims caught in the middle of this terrible conflict in the Middle East. As with Russia and Ukraine, we pray for an end to the violence and a just and lasting peace, no matter how unlikely. As for choosing sides in the conflict, we choose our own. To hell with the warmongers in Washington and their media hawks, we feel no obligation to get entangled in yet another foreign blood feud. 

There's a burning sun

And it sets in the western world

But it rises in the east

And pretty soon

It's gonna burn your temples down *

“Let dog eat dog and the devil take the hindmost,” we say. We see no need to partake in the bloodletting. Neither the zionists or islamists are our friends, and both have a penchant for atrocities and targeting innocent civilians. This is not our fight and we owe them nothing.

While the heads of state are having their fun

Are they ready?

We're looking at the world through a barrel of a gun

Are we ready?

You stand there beating on your little war drum

Are you ready?

And it won't be long before your time has come

Are you ready? *

Quite frankly our loyalty and duty is to our side (Christendom) and we’re more concerned about our own interests. Any and all aid should be used to protect Christian minorities and our Holy Places. Charity begins at home. If our mutual interest overlap, so be it, otherwise...

Well, I don't know what it is but I feel something coming 

Stuck in the middle of the Yankees and the Russians

So pull back the hands tonight  

'Cause bye bye planet let alone your nation—warhead, warhead, warhead... *

Ever cynical, we expect the powers that be to continue to wage their perpetual wars for power and profits. Instead of risking lives and squandering billions of dollars on foreign powers that work against us, we demand that those resources be used for our own welfare, beginning with protecting our borders, improving our infrastructures and economies, fighting escalating street violence in our cities, and ruthlessly punishing government corruption in our capitals.

~ Giovanni di Napoli, October 10th, The Feast of St. Francis Borgia

* Warhead (1980) lyrics by UK Subs

Abbé Augustin Barruel on the Revolution

Abbé Augustin Barruel

Doing my due diligence, I found another old quote I saved from the internet, this time attributed to Fr. Augustin Barruel (1741-1820), that didn’t quite match up with the one I found in the book it was supposedly quoted from. Not nearly as modified as the Jean-Joseph Gaume quote we recently pointed out was, but still noticeable enough to be cited here.

This is the quote attributed to Abbé Barruel I found reprinted in several different publications and websites:

You thought the Revolution ended in France, and the Revolution in France was only the first attempt of the Jacobins. In the desires of a terrible and formidable sect, you have only reached the first stage of the plans it has formed for that general Revolution which is to overthrow all thrones, all altars, annihilate all property, efface all law, and end by dissolving all society.

This is the text I found in Memoirs, illustrating the History of Jacobinism, Part III—Vol. III. The Antisocial Conspiracy by Abbé Augustan Barruel, Cornelius Davis, 1799, p.10:

According to the wishes and intentions of this terrible and formidable sect, nations, astonished, have yet only seen the first part of the plans formed for that general Revolution which is to beat down every Throne—overturn every Altar—destroy all property—blot out every law—and conclude by the total dissolution of all society!

This is the original French text in Mémories Pour Server A L’Histoire du Jacobinisme Par M. l’Abbé Barruel, Tome Troisième. A Hambourg, Chez P. Fauche, Libraire, 1798, pp.16-17: 

Dans les vœux d'une secte terrible et formidable, vous n'en êtes encore qu'à la première partie des plans qu’elle a formés pour cette Révolution générale, qu doit abattre tous les Trônes, renverser tous les Autels, anéantir toute propriéte, effacer toute loi, et finir par dissoudre toute société.

Finally, this is our translation:

According to the wishes of a terrible and formidable sect, you are still only at the first part of the plans it has formed for this general Revolution, which must demolish all the Thrones, overthrow all the Altars, annihilate all property, erase any law, and end up dissolving all society.

~ Giovanni di Napoli, October 9th, The Feast of St. Dionysius and Companions 

Photo of the Week: Detail of King Jan III Sobieski by Jean Matejko, Vatican Museum

Photo by New York Scugnizzo

XXVI Commemorazione Dei Soldati Del Regno Delle Due Sicilie Caduti Nella Battaglia Del Volturno

In Capua (CE) 14 Ottobre 2023

Remembering General Baron Charles Marie Athanase de Charette de La Contrie

General Baron Charles Marie Athanase
de Charette de La Contrie

October 9th marks the anniversary of the death of Papal Zouave General Baron Charles Marie Athanase de Charette de La Contrie. The following contains his eulogy originally published in Avant Garde, the bi-monthly bulletin of the Papal Zouaves.

On Oct. 9, 1911, at 12:58 p.m., General de Charette lifted up his beautiful soul to God, at the age of 79. It is an irreparable loss for the regiment of the Pontifical Zouaves.

Today we will sketch the soldier's career: it is known throughout the world. From Castelfidardo to Loigny, it is an uninterrupted series of exploits, worthy of the paladins of the Middle Ages.

In 1860, at Castefidardo, he was the young and brilliant captain who pushed heroism to its highest degree, happy to make his debut, proud to shed his blood for the most noble of causes: the temporal power of the Holy Father.

In 1867, at Mentana, he was the valiant colonel, a daring trainer of men, who, at the psychological moment, knew with a word how to electrify his comrades in arms and launch them into the fray.

In 1870, during the Italian invasion of the Papal States, he was the prudent and shrewd leader who executed a difficult retreat, in the midst of an entire enemy army corps.

The Battle Near Mentana by Lionel-Noël Royer

On Dec. 2, 1870, in Loigny, he was the chief who commanded and who dutifully accepted the sacrifice when the safety of the army required it.

During the armistice of 1871, he was the Gen. who knew how to organize a division of 15,000 combatants and shape the men in his image.

The last period of General de Charette's life is less well known; it was – at least for the public – a period of inaction that lasted forty years, entirely made up of abnegation, sacrifice, disappointment and suffering.

In the legislative elections, General de Charette was appointed deputy for Marseilles; he refuses this mandate, feeling no taste for parliamentarism.

In August 1871, M. Thiers offered him the rank of general of division in the French army; he refused "what he called the finest of rewards and the greatest honor he could aspire to"; he wanted to remain at the disposal of the Pope, and at the disposal of the Comte de Chambord (Henry V) who for him embodied the Fatherland.

For twelve years he was ready for action, he waited for God's hour. Alas! this period ends with a bitter disappointment: the Count of Chambord died and with him his restoration projects.

Charette will follow the same tradition with the Duke of Orleans and will not lose an opportunity to affirm his monarchical faith.

The cause of the Pope will nevertheless remain the first of his concerns and, for forty years, he continued his crusade throughout the world.

He traveled through France, Belgium, Holland, Canada, to groups his former soldiers formed and told them of his unalterable hope. He wanted to maintain the traditions of the regiment and pass them on to their children.

One must have witnessed these plenary meetings to understand the enthusiasm which animated those who had responded to the call, and the community of feelings which existed between the chief and the soldiers.

Almost every year Gen. de Charette went to Rome to remind the Pope that he was above all, a servant of the Church and to bear witness to him, submission, fidelity and devotion.

Leo XIII and St. Pius X welcomed with joy and kindness the former commander of the Papal Zouaves.

But what especially characterized Gen. Charette was his great spirit of faith; he was the Catholic soldier in the full sense of the word; he was the fervent soldier of the Sacred Heart.

In a century of indifference and irreligion, he understood that he must, as a soldier, publicly affirm his faith and pay solemn homage to God.

His great uncle, had given the peasants of Vendée the image of the Sacred Heart, an image placed on their breasts during the war of 1793; General de Charette wanted to make a similar demonstration on the battlefield of Loigny, raising the banner of the Sacred Heart.

We remember that this precious banner, stained with the blood of several of our comrades, came to him providentially, so to speak, by the hand of angels.

After the war, he dedicated his regiment to the Sacred Heart and swore to spread his devotion

He later continued to walk in this direction, participating in the erection of the basilica of Montmartre; he was one of the most assiduous members of the Comité du Voeu National.

On June 19, 1875, when the first stone of the Basilica was laid, Charette and his banner were there.

On Oct. 17, 1899, at the planting of the cross which dominates the central dome of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Charette and his banner were featured up there.

General de Charette's plan shines in the eyes of all; within his sphere and within the measure of his strength, he had the desire to carry out the requests of the Divine Master to Saint Margaret Mary: the image of the Sacred Heart on the flag of France, the erection of a national temple on the hills of Paris Gallia poenitens et devota: penitent and devoted France (inscription on the frontispiece of the Basilica)

Our good general was a fervent Christian in all the acts of his life he was a Mass server as often as possible he participated with fervor in the nocturnal adorations of the Blessed Sacrament he recited his Rosary several times a day.

A few months ago we were at Basse-Motte, noon struck, the general rushed towards the chapel of the Commandery, rung the bell and recited the Angelus.

His life has been a continual example to all of us.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Bl. Pope Pius IX, pray for us!

By Brendan Cassell (Papal Zouave History @PapalZouaveUS)