Dialogue of the Carmelites

A friend just lent me the book, Song at the Scaffold, which tells the story of the sixteen Carmelite nuns from Compiègne, who were martyred for their faith at the guillotine in the French Revolution, July 17, 1794. These humble nuns faced their death bravely, singing hyms of praise to God as they went, one by one, to their eternal glory. Their prioress, Teresa of Augustine, had prepared them well for martyrdom. The novice was the first to be executed, and the prioress, the last. In this You Tube of the finale for Poulenc's Dialogues of the Carmelites, you can hear the blades of the guillotine as each nun, one by one, marches, singing, to her death. They were beatified by St. Pius X on May 13, 1906.