Massacre in the Rue Haxo
The Massacre in the Rue Haxo (French: le massacre de la rue Haxo) was a massacre of priests and gendarmes by communards during the semaine sanglante ("bloody week") at the end of the Paris Commune in May 1871.[1][2][3]
Background
The communards associated the Catholic Church with conservatism and imperialism and enforced a separation between Church and state.[3]
In April, the Commune had arrested some 200 clergy to serve as hostages against reprisals from the Versailles government, and to use in possible prisoner exchanges. In particular, leaders of the Commune hoped to be able to exchange the archbishop of Paris, Georges Darboy, for Louis Auguste Blanqui, but this offer was rebuffed by Adolphe Thiers, president of the Third Republic.[2] Versailles troops entered the city on 21 May, and by 24 May had retaken much of the city. Théophile Ferré signed an order of execution for six of the hostages at la Roquette Prison, specifically including the archbishop; they were executed by firing squad.[4]
Massacre
On 26 May, 50 further hostages from la Roquette Prison were executed, this time publicly in rue Haxo.[1][3]
On 27 May, some of them attempted to escape; they were immediately killed.[5]
In total, 110 were killed, of whom 75 were clergy and 35 were soldiers.[5]
Legacy
Five Martyrs of the Rue Haxo | |
|---|---|
| Martyrs | |
| Born | Henri Planchat : 8 November 1823 Bourbon-Vendée, Vendée, Kingdom of France Ladislas Radigue : 8 May 1823 Saint-Patrice-du-Désert, Orne, Kingdom of France Polycarpe Tuffier : 14 March 1807 Le Malzieu, Lozère, French Republic Marcelino Rouchouze : 14 December 1810 Saint-Julien-en-Genevois, Haute-Savoie, French Empire Frézal Tardieu : 18 November 1814 Chasseradès, Lozère, Kingdom of France |
| Died | Henri Planchat : 26 May 1871 (aged 47) Paris, French Republic Ladislas Radigue : 26 May 1871 (aged 48) Paris, French Republic Polycarpe Tuffier : 26 May 1871 (aged 64) Paris, French Republic Marcelino Rouchouze : 26 May 1871 (aged 60) Paris, French Republic Frézal Tardieu : 26 May 1871 (aged 56) Paris, French Republic |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Beatified | 22 April 2023, Saint-Sulpice Church, Paris, France by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro |
| Feast | 26 May |
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A chapel was built on the site in 1894, and in 1938 the church in rue Haxo was inaugurated as Notre-Dame des Otages.[3]
On 25 November 2021, the Pope Francis recognized five victims of the 26 May killings as martyrs: Henri Planchat, Ladislas Radigue, Polycarpe Tuffier, Marcellin Rouchouze, and Frézal Tardieu.[6] They were beatified on April 22, 2023 by the Cardinal Marcello Semeraro.[7][8]
References
- Varley, Karine (2021-07-03). "Memories Not Yet Formed: Commemorating the Franco-Prussian War and the Paris Commune". Journal of War & Culture Studies. 14 (3): 231–250. doi:10.1080/17526272.2020.1726008. ISSN 1752-6272. S2CID 213316287.
- Tadié, Solène (19 May 2021). "France to mark 150th anniversary of anti-religious Paris Commune". Our Sunday Visitor. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
- Luxmoore, Jonathan (19 May 2021). "Remembering the Catholic Martyrs of the Commune of Paris". NCR. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
- Milza, Pierre (2009). "L'année terrible": La Commune. Vol. 2. Paris: Perrin. pp. 403–404. ISBN 978-2-262-03073-5. OCLC 495366340.
- Perny, Paul (1818-1907) Auteur du texte (1871). Deux mois de prison sous la Commune; suivi de détails authentiques sur l'assassinat de Mgr l'archevêque de Paris (3e éd.) / par Paul Perny,...
- "Cinq martyrs de la Commune seront prochainement béatifiés". Vatican News (in French). 2021-11-25. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
- "Samedi 22 avril 2023, béatification de 5 prêtres, martyrs à Paris en 1871". Diocese of Paris (in French). 2023-03-23. Retrieved 2023-04-22.
- "Cinq prêtres martyrs de la Commune béatifiés à Paris". Vatican News (in French). 2023-04-22. Retrieved 2023-04-22.
