# Origin of the Perpetual Adoration explained — Les Misérables

> Chapter companion for Les Misérables by Victor Hugo.

## What happens

This chapter provides a historical account of the founding of the Benedictine order of the Perpetual Adoration in Paris, triggered by a sacrilege in 1649. It details the donations by Madame Courtin and the Comtesse de Châteauvieux, the role of Mother Catherine de Bar, and the legal and royal confirmations that established the convent in the Rue Cassette. The chapter also distinguishes this order from other Benedictine and Bernardine communities, including the convent of the Petit-Picpus.

## Themes in this chapter

### Suffering and Sacrifice

The chapter describes the expiation of a sacrilege through the establishment of perpetual adoration, highlighting the theme of spiritual sacrifice and atonement.

### The Human Condition and Fate

The historical narrative shows how human actions (sacrilege) and divine response (perpetual adoration) intertwine, reflecting on the human condition and the search for meaning.

## Key lines

> In 1649 the holy sacrament was profaned on two occasions a few days apart, in two churches in Paris, at Saint-Sulpice and at Saint-Jean en Grève, a rare and frightful sacrilege which set the whole town in an uproar.

In 1649, the Eucharist was desecrated twice within a few days at two Parisian churches, causing widespread public outrage.

_This event is the catalyst for the founding of the Perpetual Adoration order._

> Both of them, one in 1652, the other in 1653, made donations of notable sums to Mother Catherine de Bar, called of the Holy Sacrament, a Benedictine nun, for the purpose of founding, to this pious end, a monastery of the order of Saint-Benoît.

In 1652 and 1653, two noblewomen donated significant funds to Mother Catherine de Bar to establish a Benedictine monastery dedicated to perpetual adoration.

_This highlights the role of aristocratic patronage in religious foundations._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/les_miserables_se/chapters/x-origin-of-the-perpetual-adoration
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/les_miserables_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/les_miserables_se/chapters