August
24, 1572,
was the date of the infamous Jesuit engineered St. Bartholomew's Day
Massacre. On that day, over 400 years ago, began one of the most horrifying
holocausts in history.
The
Massacre began with the brutal murder of Admiral Coligny . . . in
his bedroom.
Henry, Duke of Guise
(1550–1588).
|
| |
At
2 A.M., on the morning of August 24, Henry, duke of
Guise, led about 300 soldiers to the home of Admiral
Coligny.
The
murders entered his house by force and found the admiral
by his bedside praying.
The
admiral was brutally stabbed to death and his body thrown
out the window.
|
|
|
The brutal
murder of
Admiral Coligny. |
When Catherine
de Medici heard news of his death, she ordered the big bell of St.
Germain L'Auxerrous to be rung. That was the agreed on signal for
the Massacre to begin. Soon other church bells throughout the city
began to ring and the deadly holocaust commenced.
The Church of Saint-Germain L'Auxerrois. |
| |
The
signal for the Massacre to begin was the ringing of
the bell of Saint-Germain L'Auxerrois.
The
Cardinal de Lorraine was in Rome at that time, but thousands
of Certificates of Indulgences (certificat d'indulgence),
were preprinted with his signature.
The
priests and friars used these licenses
to kill to
encourage the murderers and absolve them in advance!!
|
|
|
The Cardinal
de Lorraine
(1524–1574). |
If the murderers
happened to be killed in the carnage, the priests and friars assured
them that their Certificates would cause the doors of Paradise to
open wide for them.
Catherine
de' Medici rejoiced over the
dead bodies of the French
Christians.
|
|
The
St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre was one of the greatest
crimes in the history of the world.
Total
victims numbered over 100,000 Christians throughout
France.
When
confronted with the choice of the mass or death, very
few choose the mass. |
|
|
The Catholics were acting like Muslims
during the Massacre!
|
When dawn broke
on the morning of August 24, such a sight of carnage had never been
seen in the entire history of the world. Paris was a literal Dante's
Inferno slaughterhouse....Men, women, and children were stripped
naked and their bodies horribly mutilated.
Catherine de'
Medici came out to gloat over and inspect the bodies of the
slain. She wondered if the bodies of the Christians were normal
because they could not be seduced by her courtesans.
After
the brutal murder of Admiral Coligny, his head was cut off, and taken
to the royal palace as a trophy for the king and queen mother.
It was later embalmed and sent to Rome as a "present" for
Pope Gregory XIII.
King Philip II (1527-1598).
King from 1554 to 1598.
|
|
King Philip II of Spain financed the Massacre with New
World gold and silver.
When
news of the Massacre reached him, he "laughed for
the first time on record."
Jesuit
general Francis Borgia was the overall coordinator of
the Massacre.
|
|
|
Francis Borgia (1510–1572).
Jesuit general from 1565 to 1572.
|
Beginning
in Paris, the Massacre spread rapidly to all the cities, towns, and
villages....The streets were awash with blood and the rivers were
filled with dead bodies. Men, women, and children were all consumed
by the murderous conflagration. Total victims exceeded 100,000. Not
until the atomic bombing of Hiroshima were so many people killed in
so short a time.
Queen
Elizabeth heard the news on September 3:
By
22 August, the Queen had arrived at Kenilworth to be entertained
by Leicester, who had arranged all kinds of 'princely sports.' But
on 3 September, while she was out hunting one day, a messenger arrived
with a dispatch from Walsingham in Paris that caused her to burst
into tears, cancel all further entertainments and send de la Mole
back to France. A Spanish agent in London informed Alva that she
had 'sent all her musicians and minstrels home, and there are no
more of the dances, farces and entertainments with which they have
been amusing themselves lately, as they have some less agreeable
things to think about.' (Weir, The Life of Queen Elizabeth I,
p. 287).
Queen
Elizabeth put on a good act of "grieving," while Mary Queen
of Scots stayed up all night celebrating. Pope Gregory XIII
was beside himself with joy.
Pope
Gregory XIII (1502–1585).
Pope from1572 to 1585.
|
| |
Pope
Gregory XIII was delirious with joy when he
heard of the Massacre.
The
Gregorian calendar—now
universally used—is
named after him!
|
|
|
The
Massacre Medal of Pope Gregory XIII.
|
After
the Massacre, Pope Gregory celebrated a Te Deum mass. Italian artist
Giorgio Vasari painted 3 frescoes which still hang in the Sala Regia
Palace next to the Cistine Chapel. A commemorate medal was struck
with Gregory's portrait and on the obverse a chastising angel, sword
in hand, and the legend UGONOTTORUM STRAGES ("Massacre of the
Huguenots"). Pope Gregory designated September
11 as a joint holiday (Feast of the unholy Rosary)
to celebrate the Battle of Lepanto and the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre!!
The Massacre was
a staggering blow to France from which it never fully recovered. Most
of the Christians were artisans and belonged to the middle class. Many
of them found a refuge in Germany, Switzerland, England, and Ireland
and those countries benefited greatly by their industry and maritime
skills.
References
Algrant,
Christine Pevitt. Madame de Pompadour, Mistress of France.
Grove Press, New York. 2002.
Bernier,
Olivier. Louis the Beloved. The Life of Louis XV. Doubleday
& Co., Garden City, New York, 1984.
Crowdy,
Terry. The Enemy Within: A History of Spies, Spymasters and Espionage.
Osprey Publishing, Oxford, UK, 2006.
Erickson,
Carolly, The First Elizabeth. St. Martin's Press, New York,
1983.
Frieda, Leonie.
Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France. HarperCollins
Publishers, New York, 2003.
Haynes,
Alan. Walshingham: Elizabethan Spymaster and Statesman. Sutton
Publishing, Gloustershire, UK, 2007.
Kingdon,
Robert M. Myth's About the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre,
Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MASS, 1988.
Lever,
Evelyne. Madame de Pompadour. A Life. Farrar, Straus and
Giroux, New York, 2000.
Nicolini,
G.B. History of the Jesuits. George Bell & Sons, London
& New York, 1893.
Noguerès,
Henry. The Massacre of Saint Bartholomew. The Macmillan Company,
New York, 1959.
Smith,
H.C. The Bonapartes. The History of a Dynasty. Hambledon
& London, London & New York, 2000.
Somerset,
Anne, Elizabeth I. St. Martin's Griffin, New York, 1991.
Weir,
Alison. The Life of Queen Elizabeth I. Ballantine Books,
New York, 1998.
No comments:
Post a Comment