William Joseph Chaminade - The Revolutionary Era

The Revolutionary Era

In 1790, after the start of the French Revolution, Chaminade moved to Bordeaux. There he became an enemy of the state by defying the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, which would have required him to take an oath affirming the Revolution's secular values and disclaiming the authority of the Roman Catholic Church. He secretly continued to work as a priest, risking a possible death penalty. One of his allies in this work was the Venerable Marie-Thérèse Charlotte de Lamourous (1754–1836), whom he later assisted in founding Bordeaux's Miséricorde (House of Mercy) for "fallen women".

In 1795, when the national government sought to work with the non-juring clergy, Chaminade accepted responsibility for supervising the reconciliation of the clergy of Bordeaux who had taken the Constitutional Oath but wanted to make peace with the Catholic Church; about fifty such priests completed their reconciliation with his help. After the Coup of 18 Fructidor by the French Directory in 1797, he fled the country and found refuge in Zaragoza, Spain, for three years.

While living there, he would regularly visit the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar out of his strong devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. As a result of his prayer he developed a vision for restoring the Catholic faith to France. To this end, he decided to build an organization of both lay and religious Order members, taking her as the model of a perfect disciple of Jesus.