Who doesn’t know her prayer from the Temple Prison? “What shall become of me today, my God, I know not. All I know is that nothing can happen to me which You have not foreseen from all Eternity. That is sufficient, O Lord, to keep me in peace. I adore your eternal designs, I submit myself to them wholeheartedly. I want everything, I accept everything, I offer everything, and I unite my sacrifice to that of Your dear Son my Savior, begging of you, by His Sacred Heart and His infinite merits, the patience needed in my trials and the perfect submission which is due to You in all that you wish and permit.” Here is perfect abandon, the perfect morning prayer. The princess was executed on May 10, 1794, at six in the evening. The offering made in the prayer at dawn was the sacrifice made in death that evening.

Jean de Viguerie (1935-2019)
Author of Le sacrifice du soir about Mme Elisabeth

“In 1994, on the second centenary of her death, I began to be interested in the figure of Madame Elisabeth, sister of Louis XVI. I was immediately struck by the force of her will, the intensity of her interior life, and the liveliness of her words – you could tell she was really a great figure. In the century in which she lived, such a thing was not so common, and in fact, the majority of strong personalities were women. The contrast between Louis XVI and his sister Elisabeth is a good example. Louis XVI was courageous, but he was slow to judge and hesitant in his decision-making. Elisabeth was courageous, could quickly judge and immediately move to resolve. Lastly, I noticed right away that Madame Elisabeth belonged to a rare breed of women: the eloquent shy type. She was truly shy, being very uncomfortable, for example, when she had to receive foreign kings or princes – but when the salvation of souls was at stake, and when the fate of the King was at stake, she no longer felt embarrassed, and she was capable of admonition and exhortation. She exhorted her friends to live a Catholic life, she lectured her ladies-in-waiting, she begged the deputy Barnave to believe in Louis XVI’s good will, she bid the “sans culottes” to respect the King. She exhorts those condemned with her to death. She could be called the “exhortatrice.” It was this strength, this abandonment, this passion for exhortation, that drew me to her from the start. I wanted to know her secret, and I followed her life story step by step.”

Jean de Viguerie (1935-2019)
Author of Le sacrifice du soir about Mme Elisabeth