The Sacrilege Had Taken Place
In The House Of One Charles Robidoux, At Montreal.
Public indignation
at this profanation of the sacred symbol and of the Scripture was
intense; the culprit was arrested, tried and convicted, and sentenced
to make a public reparation, after which he was to serve three years
in the galleys.
To this end he was led by the public executioner, with
a cord around his neck, bareheaded and barefooted, wearing only a long
shirt, and having a placard on his breast and back on which was
inscribed the legend "Desecrator of holy things" (Profanateur des
choses saintes), in front of the parish church in Montreal, and
being placed on his knees, he made the amende honorable to God,
to the King and to Justice, and declared in a loud and intelligible
voice that he had rashly and wickedly desecrated the sacred image of
Jesus Christ, and had profaned the words of Holy Scripture. He was
then brought to all the cross-roads of the town, where he was scourged
by the public executioner, and afterwards lodged in prison to await
the sailing of the vessel which was to convey him to France, where he
was to undergo the remainder of his sentence. The Bishop of Quebec,
(whose vast diocese then included all of North America) immediately
wrote a letter to Montreal, inviting the people to make reparation by
penances and public prayers for the outrage committed, and ordering a
public procession from the parish church to that of Notre Dame de
Bonsecours, where the veneration of the cross took place.
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