Commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the Martyrs of Algeria
To mark the 30th anniversary of the Martyrs of Algeria, a ceremony was held on 10 May 2026 at Notre-Dame d’Aiguebelle (Drôme), the mother house of the Monks of Thibirhine
An account of that day by Sr Jacqueline, who lived in community with Blessed Paul-Hélène Saint-Raymond, a Little Sister of the Assumption who was killed in Algiers on 8 May 1994.
Next, watch the replay (links at the bottom of the page) :
- interviews with several members of religious orders;
- the Mass broadcast live on France 2 as part of the programme *Le Jour du Seigneur*
“Having known most of the Blessed, I will focus on what struck me personally.
For forty-eight hours, we lived, in a way, outside of time; I was immersed in memories of life in Algiers with Paul-Hélène, those final days, the escalating violence, the shouts of ‘you-you’ from one of our neighbours in the dead of night, encouraging her sons to join the jihad, the anguish and fear, the difficult decisions to be made: leave… or stay??? The shock of the murder of our sister and Henri, the Marist brother, then the messages of condolence from all corners of the world, the shame expressed by many Algerian neighbours… But memories are also a springboard on which we can lean to move forward.
I was delighted to see friends and acquaintances from those years again, in particular Sister Chantal (a Little Sister of the Sacred Heart) who was wounded in the attack that cost Sister Odette her life.
This magnificent celebration, with the hymns written by Célestin, one of the monks, and sung by the Trappist monks and nuns of Laval, was truly beautiful, and also a reminder of certain celebrations in Tibhirine just over thirty years ago.
Moreover, in the choir stood the beautiful and colourful cross from the Atlas Chapel:
I was moved by the entrance procession with the candles, symbols of those lives given up, lights that shine out today and call on us to bear witness wherever we are. There is a transmission taking place in the unseen, a legacy that we, the survivors, must nurture and bring to fruition. We must take up the torch… This is the thought of Jean-Pierre Schumacher, a monk from Tibbhirine, who for a long time felt guilty for having escaped the kidnapping (see Nicolas Ballet’s book: ‘The Spirit of Tibbhirine’).
The offering procession: families and congregations presented symbolic objects: Christian de Chergé, a Bible in Arabic; Odette, a piece of calligraphy; Luc, a stethoscope; Pierre Claverie, an item of clothing; Esther, a relic; Bibiane and Angèle, a piece of embroidery… Paul–Hélène: a small notebook in which she jotted down her thoughts, reflections and prayers…
Archbishop Vesco of Algiers presided over the ceremony alongside Bishop Durand of Valence. In his homily, he emphasised how the witness of the 19 Blessed was, for everyone, a call to brotherhood, peace and dialogue. This entire homily is worth reading and listening to again, for it gives such meaning to these lives given up and to this fragile little Church in Algeria, and this remains true even today.”
Sr Jacqueline
Interview with Monsignor Vesco, Archbishop of Algiers, and Marie-Dominique Minassian, Doctor of Theology and head of the research group ‘The 19 Martyrs of Algeria’ at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland: