Le Bienheureux Pierre-Adrien
Toulorge partant pour son supplice,
vitrail de l'église Saint-Pierre, Muneville-le-Bingard.
Bienheureux Pierre-Adrien Toulorge
Prêtre - martyr de la
Révolution française (✝ 1793)
Le père
Pierre-Adrien Toulorge (1757 – 1793), martyr de la vérité... Le 2 avril 2011,
le pape Benoît XVI a autorisé la Congrégation pour les Causes des Saints à
promulguer 13 décrets parmi lesquels figure la prochaine béatification d'un
religieux français originaire de la Manche et tué pendant la Révolution, le
père Pierre-Adrien Toulorge, chanoine prémontré, guillotiné à Coutances en
1793.
Il est béatifié le 29 avril 2012 en la cathédrale Notre-Dame de Coutances (Eglise catholique en France)
Pierre-Adrien Toulorge naquit le 4 mai 1757 à Muneville-le-Bingard. Formé au collège puis au séminaire de Coutances, il fut ordonné prêtre, et devint vicaire séculier de Doville, en décembre 1782, à 25 ans...
(Pierre-Adrien Toulorge, Ordre des Prémontrés - 'martyr de la vérité' - guillotiné à la Révolution Française en 1793 -diocèse de Coutances et Avranches).
Pierre-Adrien Toulorge se rend souvent à l'abbaye prémontrée de Blanchelande, fondée au XIIe siècle, quelques années après la fondation de l'ordre des Prémontrés par saint Norbert. Après le vote de la Constitution civile du Clergé, le père Toulorge poursuit son ministère dans les paroisses des alentours. En 1792, suite à la loi condamnant à la déportation tous les prêtres qui n'avaient pas prêté serment, il part pour Jersey. Là, apprenant qu'il n'est pas concerné par cette loi, il décide, au risque de sa vie, de revenir à Portbail. En septembre 1793, il est capturé, jugé et condamné après avoir reconnu être allé à Jersey. Il est guillotiné à Coutances.
Martyr de la révolution française, le Père Pierre-Adrien Toulorge, chanoine prémontré de l'abbaye de Blanchelande, guillotiné à Coutances le 13.10.1793.
SOURCE : https://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/12431/Bienheureux-Pierre-Adrien-Toulorge.html
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Tombe du Bienheureux père
Toulorge,
cimetière de Saint-Pierre-de-Coutances
Béatification
du « martyr de la vérité » à Coutances
Benoît XVI participe à la joie de ce diocèse
Anita Bourdin
ROME, dimanche
29 avril 2012 (ZENIT.org)
– Le pape Benoît XVI a dit participer à la joie du diocèse de Coutances, en
Normandie, où un « martyr de la vérité » a été béatifié : le P.
Pierre-Adrien Toulorge, de l’Ordre de Prémontré (cf . Zenit du 26 avril 2012).
En français,
Benoît XVI a déclaré : « Je participe aussi spirituellement à la joie
de tous les fidèles du Diocèse de Coutances et Avranches, rassemblés pour la
Béatification du Père Pierre-Adrien Toulorge, surnommé « le martyr de la
vérité ». Que la Vierge Marie, modèle du cœur qui écoute, intercède pour
que puissent éclore de nombreux « oui » ! Bon
dimanche ! »
Le bienheureux
Pierre-Adrien Toulorge (1757-1793) a été guillotiné pendant la Révolution
Française, en 1793. Son martyre a été reconnu le 2 avril 2011.
AVRIL 29, 2012 00:00ÉGLISE CATHOLIQUE
BÉATIFICATION
PIERRE-ADRIEN TOULORGE, MARTYR DE LA VÉRITÉ
Dimanche 29 avril, le père Pierre-Adrien Toulorge à été
béatifié lors d'une cérémonie à Coutances, en la cathédrale Notre-Dame. Benoît
XVI a donné son accord le 2 avril, marquant la fin d'un procès démarré en 1922,
interrompu vers 1928 et repris en 1995.
Pierre-Adrien
Toulorge est né en 1757. Ordonné prêtre en 1782, il est envoyé à l'abbaye de
Doville. Quelques années plus tard, il entre à l'abbaye de Blanchelande pour
faire partie de l'ordre des Prémontrés. En 1792, la loi condamne les prêtres
fonctionnaires à la déportation. Il se croit visé et part sur l'île de Jersey.
Mais là bas, il se rend compte que sa situation ne l'obligeait pas à l'exil. Il
revient alors en France clandestinement pour officier comme prêtre auprès des
catholiques. Il est arrêté et au lieu de passer sous silence son aller et
retour pour Jersey, il dit toute la vérité. Il est inculpé pour
émigration, car à l'époque, on soupçonne les exilés qui reviennent d'avoir
trahi la patrie. Il est guillotiné le 10 octobre 1793.
Pour Anne
Jacquemot, qui travaille au diocèse de Coutances, "la béatification de
Pierre-Adrien Toulorge est une réussite du diocèse. Lors du bicentenaire de la
Révolution, l'évêque Jacques Fihey a voulu remettre à l'honneur les figures
catholiques de l'époque." En 1995, il parvient à relancer le procès de
Pierre-Adrien Toulorge. "Il y a eu une vraie conjonction d'influences pour
que le processus de béatification avance, explique Anne Jacquemot, L'évêque de
Coutances a bénéficié de l'aide de de l'abbaye de Mondaye, et du représentant
de l'ordre de Prémontré à Rome." Plusieurs évènements, dont quatre
expositions, sont organisés autour de cette béatification (le programme est à
consulter sur le site du diocèse de
Coutances.)
Le sens de cette
béatification
Le frère
François-Marie est le prieur de l'abbaye de Mondaye. Il a participé au procès
diocésain en béatification et répond à nos questions.
Que
représente le père Pierre-Adrien Toulorge dans la région?
Il existe une
association des amis de Pierre-Adrien Toulorge qui revendique près de 140
membres. Sa béatification est l'occasion de faire connaître cette figure, car
il n'est pas célèbre, même si, entre prémontrés, nous l'évoquons
parfois. Ce qui rend son martyre signifiant, c'est qu'il n'était pas forcé
de dire la vérité. Il aurait pu nier être parti à Jersey, et sauver sa vie. Il
a dit la vérité après avoir menti, c'est ça qui justifie son titre de martyr de
la vérité.
Quel
message peut-il nous transmettre aujourd'hui ?
Avec tous les
compromis qu'on peut être tenté de faire aujourd'hui, il nous apprend à ne pas
transiger. Durant son procès, sa foi en le Christ a été la plus forte, un
attachement comme à un être vivant. Parfois on se contente de demi-vérités,
comme le père Toulorge aurait pu le faire. La période était difficile,
violente. On accusait les gens qui s'étaient exilés et qui revenaient d'avoir
trahi la patrie. Officiellement, c'est de cela qu'on l'accusait, mais en
réalité, c'était un motif indirect pour persécuter un prêtre.
Il
n'est pas le seul homme d'Eglise mort durant la révolution. Pourquoi lui ?
En raison de
son parcours attachant ! Il est parti sur l'île de Jersey parce qu'il se
croyait concerné par la loi de déportation des prêtres. Quand il s'est rendu
compte de sa méprise, il a décidé de rentrer pour accomplir son sacerdoce. Il
aurait pu tirer son épingle du jeu, rester à Jersey et ne pas risquer sa vie,
mais il n'était pas en paix. Par la suite, après son arrestation, il a d'abord
menti pour se protéger, puis a choisi de révéler la vérité, ce qui l'a libéré
intérieurement, tout en sachant qu'il se condamnait à mort. 57 prêtres ont été
tués durant la Révolution française. Nous l'avons choisi car sa vie était la
plus documentée. Les archives de Saint-Lô avait été détruites lors de la
Libération, mais un de ses descendants avait recopié les lettres et les semons
qu'il avait écrit, et nous avons pu les verser au dossier.
Ruines de l'abbaye de
Blanchelande,
Arcisse de Caumont, Atlas, Mémoires de la Société des antiquaires de
Normandie, 1825
The Life and Martyrdom
of Pierre-Adrien Toulorge o.praem.
With the kind permission of the Abbey of Saint Joseph
de Clairval we are able to produce here a very fine
life of Father Peter-Adrian (Pierre-Adrien) Tourlorge o.praem. who will be
beatified next month.
Autumn 1793. The
French Revolution had entered its most violent phase, the Reign of Terror.
Priests who had remained in communion with the Holy See were being hunted down
and tried. The evening of October 12, in Coutances, Normandy, 37-year-old
Father Pierre Toulorge was radiant as he returned from his trial to the cell he
shared with other prisoners, priests and lay people. «So, what’s the news?»
«Good news—my case was decided in my favor!» Everyone thought he had been
acquitted. However, soon he revealed the truth—a death sentence, without
appeal. The joy in the cell was replaced by sadness. A nun who had been
arrested at the same time as him, Sister Saint-Paul, burst into tears. The
martyr then told her sternly: «Madame, the tears you are shedding are unworthy
of you and me. What would worldly people say if they knew that having renounced
the world, we found it difficult to leave it? If we are loathe to die, we will
give the children of this century a bad example, and perhaps your
discouragement will close the door of Salvation for many souls who might find
themselves in the same situation. Let us teach them by our constancy what they
must do. Let us show that faith is victorious over torture, and open a path to
Heaven amidst the final efforts of hell.» Who was this fearless witness to
Christ and His Church?
Born and baptized on May 4, 1757 in
Muneville-le-Bingard, France, on the Cotentin peninsula, Pierre-Adrien was the
third child of Julien Toulorge and Julienne Hamel who owned a small farm. The
diocese of Coutances in which he grew up had remained, in the era of Voltaire,
a region of religious fervor. Nearly everyone participated in the sacraments at
Easter, and vocations flourished. Pierre-Adrien was pious, and when his first
aspirations to the priesthood began to take shape, he was taken under the wing
of one of the assistant priests who taught him Latin. The young man was soon
sent to school for first his general studies and then philosophy. Around 1776,
he was admitted to the major seminary in Coutances, run by the Eudists; the
seminary’s Superior, Father François Lefranc, would be martyred in Paris in
September 1792. Ordained a priest in 1782, Pierre-Adrien Toulorge was made
assistant curate in Doville, a parish of six hundred inhabitants. The parish priest
there was a Norbertine canon, methodical and zealous. The financial situation
allowed the two priests to live modestly but decently. The parish had many
people made poor by the American Revolutionary War, which had ruined the sea
trade and maritime occupations. The parish priest and his curate were intent on
helping these individuals.
A Happy
Condition
The text of one of the young curate’s sermons
on the happiness of the just and the misery of the wicked has survived to this
day. It includes the following passage, which is truly prophetic: «How happy,
my Brothers, is the condition of the children of God! He tests them, but out of
love. He afflicts them, but He renders their afflictions pleasant; they suffer,
and soon His love is moved, and hastens to comfort them. It pours into their
hearts a thousand blessings of sweetness that transport them. Yes, my Brothers,
in the tender outpourings of the Consoling Spirit, one is penetrated by a
divine pleasure, an ineffable, indescribable joy. The nature of misfortunes
changes, one loves them, one suffers at having nothing to suffer, and all a
faithful soul desires is to perpetuate or consummate its sacrifice.»
Pierre Toulorge often went to the nearby
Norbertine Abbey in Blanchelande. Founded by Saint Norbert in Picardy around
1120, the Norbertines (or Premonstra–tensian Order) focus on the communal
celebration of the Divine Office and pastoral ministry. The Norbertines, called
Canons Regular, wear white habits. Pierre-Adrien asked the Prior to receive him
into the community. His aim was twofold: to devote himself to priestly ministry
in the countryside, and to practice community life, in order to draw spiritual
support from it. He was admitted, then left to complete his novitiate at the
abbey in Beauport, Brittany. In June 1788, Canon Toulorge returned to
Blanchelande and made his religious profession. He exercised his ministry in
the surrounding parishes, particularly by preaching.
However, in January 1789, the States-General
(the kingdom’s general assembly) were convened in Versailles by King Louis XVI.
Events soon took a revolutionary turn. The Constituent Assembly that had, in a
daring coup, seized power, had Voltairian tendencies—it despised Religious and
coveted their property. On February 13, 1790, it abolished monastic orders and
nationalized their assets; the Canons Regular were put in the same category as
monks. In April, the municipality of Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte sent a team of
representatives to Blanchelande to take a detailed inventory—it lasted two months—of
the abbey’s assets, in order to put them up for sale. Each of the five canons
was then asked if he wished to «take advantage of the provisions of law in
order to leave the monastic life.» The Prior and the Sub-Prior responded «yes»;
the three other Brothers asked to continue to live in community and follow
their Rule. They were told they would be allowed to withdraw to the
department’s «concentration monastery», where religious from all orders would
be rounded up. Faced with this less than reassuring prospect, the three canons
quietly left to continue serving parishes. For a year and a half, Pierre
Toulorge was lodged at a neighboring farm.
Error
of judgment
In July 1790, the National Assembly promulgated
the «Civil Constitution of the Clergy,» a schismatic act that placed the Church
in France under civil authority. From then on, bishops and pastors were to be
elected by the people, and the Holy See was stripped of all authority. In
November, a new law required priests in public service — bishops, parish
priests, curates — to swear an oath of fidelity to the Civil Constitution,
under pain of being stripped of their office and, if they persisted, criminal
prosecution. In March 1791, Pope Pius VI condemned the Civil Constitution and
forbade clergy from taking the schismatic oath. In the meantime, many priests
had taken the oath out of ambition, greed, weakness, or ignorance. Some later
retracted their oaths when they learned of the papal condemnation.
On August 26, 1792, as the «revolutionary
machine» moved inexorably forward, a law was passed calling for the deportation
of all public service clergy who had not taken the oath. From then on, their
hatred of priests and religion visibly drove the persecutors. The «refractory»
priests who remained in France, or who returned after leaving, would soon be
subject to death. The faithful clergy en masse went into exile. At this point,
Father Toulorge made an error of judgment—he thought he was affected by the
banishment law, when it only applied to public service priests. He obtained
traveling papers and, on September 12, embarked for the nearby Anglo-Norman
island of Jersey. There he joined over five hundred priests from the diocese of
Coutances, and for five weeks, lived the precarious existence of a penniless
exile. However, a confrere in exile pointed out to him his error on the scope
of the banishment law. Then Pierre-Adrien, thinking of his country so short of
faithful priests, decided to return as soon as possible, in the hope that his
absence had not been noticed. He landed secretly on a beach in Cotentin and
soon went underground—from November 1792 to September 1793, he lived in hiding,
going from village to village in disguise, to celebrate Mass in private homes
and to administer the sacraments. Twenty other refractory priests carried out
the same ministry in the area. Father Toulorge celebrated Holy Mass with
makeshift vestments; he had copied by hand the main prayers from the Missal. He
pursued his activity despite being hunted by the local commissioners and revolutionary
clubs. Anyone who spotted a refractory priest was encouraged to report him to
the authorities, and was promised a reward.
A poor
beggar
The evening of September 2, 1793, close to the
village of Saint-Nicolas-de-Pierrepont, a passerby saw a «muddy, wet, tired»
vagabond appear suddenly from a thicket. Charitably, the woman invited him into
her home and lit a fire. His trust having been won, the poor beggar made
himself known—it was Father Toulorge. The hostess, in turn, revealed her
identity—Sister Saint-Paul, a former Benedictine nun who had been driven from
her priory by the Revolution. The priest accepted her hospitality for the
night. The next morning, the nun led him, disguised as a woman, to the home of
a friend, Marotte Fosse, thinking he would be safer there. But some workers,
seeing this unfamiliar woman walk by, noticed his men’s stockings and shoes.
Tempted by the promised reward, they followed the two suspicious characters
from a distance to Marotte’s door, and then went to inform the Revolutionary
Committee. As Pierre-Adrien was resting in the attic, three national guards
knocked so violently on the front door they made it shake. «Open in the name of
the Law!» Father Toulorge froze. A guard went to look for Marotte, who had left
for work, and made her open the door. The house was searched from top to
bottom. The priest had hidden himself under bundles of flax—the national guards
stabbed with their bayonets at the pile of bundles. Nothing! They were going to
leave, muttering to themselves, when one of them went back to the attic and
discovered Pierre-Adrien, as he was coming out of his hiding spot. The priest
was immediately arrested and the evidence — vestments, chalice, etc. — seized.
Two days later, the accused were taken to the
director of Carentan district to be put on trial. To avoid the death sentence
decreed for «returned exiles», Pierre-Adrien hid the fact that he had left
France. Commissioner Le Canut, hoping to get him to contradict himself, asked
him point-blank: «Have you ever, at this time or at any other time, gone to
Jersey or to any other foreign land?» «No.» «But a refractory priest we
interrogated a little while ago told us he had seen you in Jersey.» (This was a
fabrication by Le Canut.) «I have never left French soil and, if others have
told you I have, they are either mistaken or crazy.» He was then shown the
vestments and the liturgical objects seized from the Fosse home, and he
admitted they were his. The judges, uncertain, decided to send the accused to
the departmental court in Coutances.
«Let
your ‘yes’ be ‘ yes’ and ‘no’, ‘no’ »
Father Toulorge had, to save his life, denied
having gone to Jersey. It is true that a defendant is not required to give
witness against himself when objective proof of his guilt has not been
established. Yet, back in prison, the religious was immediately plagued with
remorse. He thought he had failed the truth. Jesus’ words echoed in his heart:
Let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ and your ‘no’, ‘no’ (Mt. 5:37). He felt driven to tell
the whole truth, whatever the consequences might be. At dawn on September 8,
the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Pierre-Adrien
spontaneously confessed that he had spent time in Jersey. The deposition went
with him to Coutances, where he was imprisoned the same day. The priest from
Normandy arrived in the principal town in the Manche department at the worst
possible moment—representative Lecarpentier was staying there, sent by the
Convention (the Republic’s parliament) to «take every possible measure to wipe
out any vestiges of royalty and superstition.» Lecarpentier would go down in
history as the «Executioner of La Manche.» In a few days, one hundred forty
people were arrested.
On September 22, 1793, Pierre-Adrien appeared
before the administrative Commission of Coutances, charged with determining if
he should be declared a «returned exile.» Interrogated at length in spite of
his physical exhaustion, he admitted his brief emigration to Jersey. The
judges, who feared Lecarpentier but would have liked to save the priest’s life,
declared that «the defendant must be considered an exile,» based on the
traveling papers in his name, but they did not mention his confession, to allow
him a chance to exonerate himself. They then sent him before the criminal
court, whose duty it was to sentence him. Although Loisel, the presiding judge
in this case, was a Jacobin, he was not a fanatic «terrorist»—no one liked
seeing blood run in Lower Normandy. Before the hearing, he tried to save the
defendant by suggesting to him that he retract his confession of having
emigrated to Jersey and that he vaguely allude to having stayed somewhere in
France. The court would be satisfied with it, and Toulorge would avoid the
guillotine. Some judges were even ready to answer questions from the president
on the priest’s behalf, so that he would not have to burden his conscience—he
would only have to remain silent. But he preferred to die than not tell the
full truth, even to a French revolutionary court.
The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic
Church, published by Pope Benedict XVI, replies to the question, «What is one’s
duty toward the truth?»: «Every person is called to sincerity and truthfulness
in acting and speaking. Everyone has the duty to seek the truth, to adhere to
it and to order one’s whole life in accordance with its demands. In Jesus
Christ the whole of God’s truth has been made manifest. He is ‘the truth’.
Those who follow Him live in the Spirit of truth and guard against duplicity, dissimulation,
and hypocrisy» (no. 521). Commitment to the truth led Father Toulorge to his
heroic decision.
The records of the Tribunal for October 12,
1793 read: «Toulorge, questioned as to whether he was in a position to prove
that he had not left the territory of the French Republic, said that he could
not, and even admitted to having left French territory and withdrawn to the
English island of Jersey.» The end of this sentence («and even admitted«») was
added to the margin of the proceedings that had been prepared ahead of
time—this detail shows that the court had anticipated giving the benefit of the
doubt to the defendant. But his unequivocal confession «forced» the judges to
apply the reign of terror’s law.
Farewell,
Messieurs, until Eternity!
A moving silence followed the reading of the
verdict. Then Pierre-Adrien uttered these words: «Deo gratias! (Thanks be to
God) « May God’s will, not mine, be done! Adieu, Messieurs, until Eternity, if
you make yourselves worthy of it!» His face shone with joy. Housewives who
passed him as he was being taken back to prison thought he had been acquitted.
When evening came, the prisoner dined with a healthy appetite, then went to
confession and managed to write three letters. To a friend: «I have very good
news to tell you. They have just read me my death sentence. Tomorrow, at two
o’clock, I will leave this earth laden with abominations to go to Heaven. My
consolation right now is that God is giving me tremendous joy and serenity—and
what strengthens me is the hope that soon I will possess my God«» To his
brother: «Rejoice, tomorrow you will have a protector in Heaven, if God, as I
hope, sustains me, as He has up till now. Rejoice that God has found me worthy
of suffering not only prison, but even death for Our Lord Jesus Christ. It is
not to perishable goods that we must be attached. So turn your eyes toward
Heaven, live as a good Christian, and raise your children in the Holy Catholic,
Apostolic, and Roman Faith, outside of which there is no salvation.» Finally, he
announced his imminent martyrdom to an unidentified person, adding, «I did not
deserve such an obvious sign of God’s goodness.»
The condemned man then slept the sleep of the
just. The next day, Sunday, October 13, he appeared joyful and calm. He asked
for his hair to be cut and his beard shaved. He talked about Heaven with his
companions. He said the breviary with them and stopped at the hymn for compline
(the evening prayer), after having recited this verse: «When, Lord, will dawn
Your day that knows no end?» He then exclaimed, full of joy: «Soon I will sing
this thanksgiving canticle in Heaven.» When the executioner came for him,
Pierre Toulorge blessed those present. The guillotine was set up in the center
of Coutances—it was the first time since the Revolution began that it was being
used in the little city. Arriving at the foot of the scaffold, Pierre-Adrien
said, «My God, I place my soul in Your hands. I ask that You reestablish and
preserve Your Holy Church. I beg You to forgive my enemies.» After the execution,
the executioner grabbed the head by the hair and showed it to the people.
According to an eyewitness account, Pierre-Adrien was buried by pious
individuals in the cemetery of Saint-Pierre, according to the custom observed
for priests: the face uncovered and facing west. He had kept a look of great
serenity on his face. Sister Saint-Paul and those accused of having hidden
Father Toulorge were acquitted—the martyr, from the heights of Heaven, had
extended his protection over them.
When in 1922 a number of diocesan processes for
the beatification of martyrs of the French Revolution in Normandy were
undertaken, Father Pierre-Adrien Toulorge’s cause was considered the most
worthy of those of the fifty-seven priests killed in this province. The diocesan
process was concluded in 1996, and the cause is currently underway in Rome.
A daily witness
In his August 6, 1993 encyclical Veritatis
splendor, Pope John Paul II wrote, «Martyrdom is an outstanding sign of the
holiness of the Church. Fidelity to God’s holy law, witnessed to by death, is a
solemn proclamation and missionary commitment usque ad sanguinem (to the point
of shedding blood), so that the splendor of moral truth may be undimmed in the
behavior and thinking of individuals and society. This witness makes an
extraordinarily valuable contribution to warding off, in civil society and
within the ecclesial communities themselves, a headlong plunge into the most
dangerous crisis which can afflict man: the confusion between good and evil,
which makes it impossible to build up and to preserve the moral order of
individuals and communities. « Although martyrdom represents the high point of
the witness to moral truth, and one to which relatively few people are called,
there is nonetheless a consistent witness which all Christians must daily be
ready to make, even at the cost of suffering and grave sacrifice. Indeed, faced
with the many difficulties which fidelity to the moral order can demand, even
in the most ordinary circumstances, the Christian is called, with the grace of
God invoked in prayer, to a sometimes heroic commitment. In this he or she is
sustained by the virtue of fortitude, whereby — as Gregory the Great teaches —
one can actually ‘love the difficulties of this world for the sake of eternal
rewards’ » (no. 93).
To Father Toulorge the people of Cotentin have
given the title «martyr for truth.» May this priest, through his intercession,
gain for us the grace of giving witness with our entire lives to Christ, who is
Truth itself.
Dom Antoine Marie osb.
Beato Pietro Adriano Toulorge Sacerdote premostratense, martire
Muneville-le-Bingard, Francia, 4 maggio 1757 –
Coutances, Francia, 13 ottobre 1793
Per la verità si gioca la testa, e non solo
metaforicamente parlando. Pietro Adriano Toulorge nasce in Francia, in
Normandia, nel 1757 e viene ordinato sacerdote nel 1781. Nella sua vita si
delineano quattro distinti periodi, il primo dei quali potremmo chiamare quello
del buon prete, che inizia proprio con l’ordinazione e prosegue con la sua
nomina a viceparroco di Doville, una parrocchia di 600 abitanti, in cui c’è un
canonico premostratense, metodico e zelante, un sant’uomo insomma, che aiuta
padre Toulorge nel suo tirocinio pastorale, educandolo ad essere un buon prete.
Conquistato dal suo esempio, il viceparroco si fa accettare dai Premostratentsi
della poco distante abbazia di Blanchelande: inizia così il secondo periodo,
quello del fervore, al quale il giovane prete aspira, facendosi aiutare dalla
spiritualità dell’Ordine, dalla preghiera in comune, dal sostegno fraterno, con
la prospettiva di dedicarsi poi, con maggior slancio, alla predicazione nelle
parrocchie del circondario. Arriva però la soppressione di tutti gli ordini
religiosi e anche lui si trova “per strada”, ospitato in una fattoria del
circondario a cercare di svolgere come può il suo ministero. Con la Rivoluzione
francese arriva anche la Costituzione civile del Clero, con l’obbligo per vescovi
e parroci di giurare ad essa fedeltà, con ciò ponendosi di fatto sotto il
potere civile e staccandosi da Roma: uno scisma, tanto per intenderci, e per
questo il Papa vieta il giuramento del clero, mentre il Governo risponde con la
deportazione prima e con la condanna a morte poi dei preti “refrattari”,
che cioè si rifiutano di giurare. Per il nostro padre Toulorge inizia
così il terzo periodo, quello della paura, che nessuno può permettersi di
giudicare o di condannare in quanto sentimento umanissimo, anche perché il
coraggio chi non ce l’ha non se lo può dare. Oltretutto non sa di non essere
obbligato al giuramento, in quanto membro di un ordine religioso, e quindi di
non essere in pericolo: così si imbarca di nascosto e scappa nell’isola
anglo-normanna di Jersey, dove scopre di essere già stato preceduto da almeno
500 preti della sua diocesi, segno evidente che non è il solo ad aver avuto
paura. Qui gli spiegano l’errore, che cioè non era tenuto al giuramento e che
quindi avrebbe anche potuto evitare di scappare, ed in quel momento scatta in
lui il senso di responsabilità che gli deriva dall’ordinazione. È proprio
pensando alle tante parrocchie rimaste senza prete che decide di ritornare in
patria, sperando di cuore che la sua assenza non sia stata notata. Torna da
clandestino, sotto mentite spoglie, travestendosi addirittura da donna e
nascondendosi in case ospitali, ma evidentemente qualcosa, forse le scarpe, lo
tradisce e si trova subito il solito “giuda” che lo denuncia alle autorità. Lo
trovano in una cascina, ben nascosto sotto alcune balle di lino e viene
rocambolescamente arrestato solo per pura combinazione. Processato per
direttissima, nega risolutamente di aver lasciato la Francia, riuscendo così ad
evitare la condanna a morte. Riportato in carcere, mentre assapora la gioia di
aver avuto salva la vita e si prepara al secondo grado del processo dal quale
sarà sicuramente prosciolto, non essendo i giudici riusciti a provare la sua
fuga all’estero, sente improvvisamente risuonare dentro di sé le parole
evangeliche “il vostro parlare sì, sì; no, no”, che apre le porte al quarto
periodo della sua vita, quello dell’eroismo. È infatti partendo da questa
esigenza di verità che il vangelo richiede, che padre Toulorge comincia a
profondamente vergognarsi della menzogna a prezzo della quale è riuscito ad
avere salva la vita. Senza perdere tempo, si autodenuncia al tribunale e,
naturalmente, viene di nuovo processato. Ha la fortuna di trovare giudici
particolarmente clementi e ben disposti verso di lui, che si accontenterebbero
anche solo di una mezza verità, che tuttavia lui adesso trova inconciliabile
con il suo essere prete e cristiano: “Che cosa dirà la gente del mondo se saprà
che, avendo rinunciato al mondo, abbiamo difficoltà a lasciarlo? Se siamo riluttanti
a morire, diamo ai figli di questo mondo un cattivo esempio”. Così, il 13
ottobre 1793, una domenica pomeriggio, la gente è attonita non tanto nel
vederlo andare verso la ghigliottina, quanto piuttosto nel trovarlo sereno,
quasi allegro anche nelle sue ultime parole: “Addio, Signori, fino
all'Eternità, se ve ne rendete degni!”. La sua diocesi lo ha sempre ritenuto
autentico “martire della verità” e come tale è stato beatificato lo scorso 29
aprile nella cattedrale di Coutances.
Autore: Gianpiero Pettiti
Nato il 4 mag. 1757 a Muneville-le-Bingard, in
Normandia (Francia), in una famiglia di contadini, fu alunno del seminario
maggiore di Coutances il cui rettore era p. Francesco Lefranc, futuro martire
della Rivoluzione. Ordinato sacerdote nel 1781, divenne viceparroco a Doville,
nel 1782. Il suo parroco, Giacomo Francesco Le Canut, era canonico
premostratense della vicina abbazia di Blanchelande. Attratto dalla vita
religiosa, il Toulorge entrò in questa abbazia nel 1787, dove ricevette il nome
di Pietro Adriano, e prese i voti l'anno dopo.
Nel 1789 furono convocati gli Stati Generali, e molti francesi sperarono in un
miglioramento della situazione politica e soprattutto economica. Essa invece
precipitò e il 2 nov. l'Assemblea votò la confisca dei beni della Chiesa.
Nell'abbazia di Bianche-lande, il priore, membro di un'altra abbazia,
approfittò della situazione e dilapidò una parte notevole del patrimonio della
comunità. Il Toulorge e tre confratelli denunciarono presso l'autorità civile
il modo di comportarsi del priore. Ma il 13 feb. 1790, l'Assemblea soppresse
gli ordini monastici e decretò, in data 26 mar., l'inventario dei beni dei
monasteri e delle comunità religiose. Inoltre, ogni comune doveva chiedere ai
religiosi le loro intenzioni per il futuro. Il 10 giu. 1790, Pietro Adriano e
alcuni suoi confratelli dichiararono di voler continuare a vivere nella loro
abbazia. Banchelande chiuse le porte verso la fine dello stesso anno e i suoi
pochi membri la lasciarono per sempre. Non essendo sacerdote funzionario
pubblico, cioè né parroco né viceparroco, il Toulorge non fu costretto a
giurare obbedienza alla Costituzione civile del Clero. Fino all'ago. 1792, fu
ospite di una famiglia cattolica, che si decise per l'esilio. Ai primi di set.,
il Toulorge sentì parlare della legge del 26 ago., che condannava alla
deportazione i sacerdoti funzionari pubblici che non avevano giurato secondo la
formula del giuramento di Libertà e Uguaglianza. Egli, non avendo capito di non
essere soggetto a questa legge, pensò di essere minacciato. Così decise di
partire per l'isola inglese di Jersey, con 563 altri sacerdoti della diocesi di
Coutances. Uno degli emigrati gli fece capire che avrebbe potuto rimanere in
Francia. Decise così di tornare in patria, spinto dalla consapevolezza che
ormai il popolo cristiano mancava crudelmente di pastori fedeli alla Chiesa e
al papa.
Clandestino, riprese il suo ministero, ma il 26 nov. una nuova legge mise al
bando tutti gli emigrati tornati in patria, minacciando della pena di morte
coloro che fossero stati sorpresi sul territorio nazionale. Dalla fine di nov.
1792 ai primi di set. 1793, data del suo arresto, il Toulorge si nascose,
amministrando i sacramenti e celebrando la messa, come testimoniano gli oggetti
di culto che portava con sé quando fu arrestato, in seguito ad una vera «caccia
al prete» organizzata dall'autorità rivoluzionaria nella regione. Il 4 set. fu
interrogato dall' amministrazione del distretto di Carentan. Nessuno gli chiese
del giuramento o di una eventuale emigrazione. Vennero solo messe in risalto le
sue qualità di sacerdote. Di fronte alle domande del presidente del tribunale,
il Toulorge negò tutto ciò che poteva rivelare il suo ministero clandestino.
Poi il tribunale scoprì che l'imputato aveva fatto vidimare il passaporto, e
orientò le indagini verso una eventuale emigrazione, che egli negò con
determinazione, perché non esisteva la minima prova amministrativa del suo
breve passaggio a Jersey. I giudici erano convinti di questa emigrazione, ma
non potevano provarla. Dopo aver riflettuto, il Toulorge ammise di essersi
travestito con dei vestiti femminili per sfuggire ai suoi inseguitori, ma
mantenne la sua menzogna sull'emigrazione a Jersey. Il presidente del tribunale
sembrò accettare questa versione dei fatti, intento a dimostrare la
colpevolezza del sacerdote che avrebbe «cercato di favorire i progressi del
fanatismo» nella regione. Tuttavia, il 7 set., il tribunale decise che il
Toulorge doveva essere considerato emigrato e trasferito presso il tribunale
criminale del dipartimento de La Manche, la cui sede era Coutances. Domenica 8
set., festa della Natività di Maria, prima di partire per Coutances, il
Toulorge decise di dire la verità e confessò il suo breve esilio nell'isola di
Jersey. Da quel momento, tale capo d'imputazione assunse un'importanza maggiore
e divenne il motivo «politico» che poteva consentire di ucciderlo con tutte le
apparenze della legalità se non della giustizia.
Il 22 set., il Toulorge dovette comparire davanti al tribunale criminale e
confessò nuovamente il suo esilio. Ma lo stesso tribunale era in imbarazzo, perché
il delitto di emigrazione non poteva essere giuridicamente provato. Come si
poteva dichiarare emigrato senza prova un sacerdote che confessava un tale
delitto? Il suo nome non era iscritto nelle liste degli emigrati. Non era
sacerdote funzionario pubblico, quindi non era costretto a giurare. Il suo
passaggio a Jersey non era una fuga, ma la conseguenza di una errata
interpretazione della legge. Infine era tornato in Francia prima che venisse
votata la legge che puniva gli emigrati tornati indietro. Il 12 ott., prima di
redigere la versione definitiva della sentenza, il tribunale gli fornì
un'ultima occasione di salvarsi, negando la verità. Toulorge conosceva i
sentimenti dei giudici, che avrebbero approfittato della situazione se avesse
negato la verità sull'esilio di cui tutti erano convinti anche senza prova.
Quale spettacolo avrebbe dato un sacerdote a questi rivoluzionari se avesse
acconsentito a salvare la propria vita a prezzo di una bugia? Egli rifiutò di
salvarsi a questo prezzo e confermò le sue deposizioni anteriori. E così, il
tribunale lo condannò a essere ghigliottinato il 13 ott. Allora disse, come san
Cipriano: «Deo gratias!». Il Toulorge trascorse l'ultima notte, preparandosi
alla morte: scrisse tre lettere in cui manifestò la consapevolezza di morire
per la fede cattolica e di essere martire, assieme alla coscienza della propria
indegnità. Confermò in questi ultimi scritti la sua fedeltà alla fede e alla
Chiesa cattolica, e promise la sua intercessione presso Dio per la stessa
Chiesa. Un testimone oculare ha raccontato ciò che il Toulorge disse prima di
morire: «Dio mio, nelle tue mani affido il mio spirito! Ti chiedo la
restaurazione e la conservazione della santa Chiesa. Perdona, te ne prego, i
miei nemici». Il Toulorge fu sepolto nel cimitero San Pietro di Coutances e
venerato come «Martire della Verità».
Nel 1922 il Toulorge fu annoverato fra i cinquantasei sacerdoti martiri della
Normandia. Dopo il processo diocesano, la Francia precipitò in conflitti
sociali e poi a causa dello scoppio della Seconda guerra mondiale la causa fu,
di fatto, abbandonata. In occasione del Bicentenario della Rivoluzione francese
e della morte del X, l'Ordine premostratense ha ripreso solo la causa di Pietro
Adriano Toulorge, a norma della nuova legislazione canonica. Il nulla osta è
stato concesso dalla Santa Sede il 24 apr. 1995, per l'avvio del processo
diocesano. Gli atti di quest'ultimo sono stati ritenuti validi dalla
Congregazione delle Cause dei Santi con decreto dell'8 mag. 1998. La Postilo
super martyrio è stata presentata il 5 ago. 1999.
Autore: Bernard Ardura
Béatification du père Pierre-Adrien Toulorge, KTOTV, 2012 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XapecqLJ_k
Voir
aussi : http://postulatio.info/en/grusswort/PATliber-GB.pdf
