Blood proven to be that of executed French king

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
1/2/2013
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

Tissue analysis reveals that bloody cloth contained sample of executed Louis XVI

Louis XVI of revolutionary France was known for his extravagance - a whole line of splendiferous d�cor and furniture bears his name. His rotten-to-the-core regime came to a bloody end with his head being separated from his neck by that trust new-fangled invention, the Guillotine. Now, scientists have authenticated that a rag believed to have been dipped in his blood is the genuine article.

We don't think Louis XVI would appear so smug if he knew his final fate ...

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LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The discovery also proved the authenticity of a mummified head believed to be that of 16th century French king Henri IV, which was used to make the DNA comparison.

Louis XVI lost his head on January 21, 1793, the first victim of the "Reign of Terror" that followed France's revolutionary uprising. What was to then become a hot trend of its day, spectators dipped their handkerchiefs in the gore of the decapitated victim as a morbid keepsake - and a reminder that the person was most sincerely dead.

"On January 21, Maximilien Bourdaloue dipped his handkerchief in the blood of Louis XVI after his decapitation," read a note on a calabash, which is a form of squash that is dried and used as a bottle.

The artifact has been owned by an Italian family for more than a century. Its authenticity was just proven recently.

In 2010 DNA samples taken from the rag showed a good match between someone of Louis' description, including his blue eyes.

Scientists were unable to prove the blood's authenticity as there was no DNA from any of his relatives, until they examined the supposed head of 16th century King Henri IV which had been stolen from the royal chapel at Saint Denis near Paris by revolutionaries.

Henri IV, was one of France's most popular monarchs who was able briefly to reconcile the country's Protestant and Catholic communities until he was assassinated by a Catholic fanatic in 1610 at the age of 57.

The head changed hands several times and was sold at auction and kept in private collections.

In 2010 Henri's DNA was tested and, as in Louis's case, scientists said they believed it was authentic due to the genetic material was consistent with descriptions of the 16th century king.

Conducted by French and Italian experts, both sets of remains were authenticated after the team found a rare genetic signature shared by the two men, despite being separated by seven generations.

"This study shows that [the remains] share a genetic heritage passed on through the paternal line," forensic pathologist Philippe Charlier says. "They have a direct link to one another through their fathers. One could say that there is absolutely no doubt any more."

� 2012, Catholic Online. Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.

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Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: Louis XVI, guillotine, French Revolution, DNA testing,

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1 - 10 of 13 Comments

judy claar
4 months ago
Interesting read. Interesting Posts! Blessings...
Mike
4 months ago
What snide comments, I guess the author of this article thinks the masonic based French Revolution where hundreds of thousands of Catholics were slaughtered, was a better alternative to a Catholic monarchy. Truly sad....
Kevin Ritchie
4 months ago
Why would you start an article out about Louis XVI with this vitriol? He was not a strong monarch but he was kind man and not anti-Catholic. The downward spiral of France started long before him; he was so young when murdered!

Everyone should read his last will and testament and then decide:

http://nobility.org/2011/12/22/louis_xvi/
Mrs. Tansey
4 months ago
The authors of this article are parading their ignorance. The Masonic-Jewish French Revolution was evil as are its fruits which we suffer from to this day. The Vendee uprising will explain to many what exactly the revolution was about. Thanks be to God for those comments which truly state/understand the Catholic position.
Brian
4 months ago
One last thing before I bow out of this thread (...I do not mean to approve the persecution of Catholics in the French Revolution. I mean only to raise tough questions about absolute monarchy and its promoters. After all, surely the Church is not meant to be synonymous with absolute monarchy.
Marsh Connolly
4 months ago
While I acknowledge that the kings of France were great defenders of the faith, as one with a degree in history, I also know they were generally poor administrators where the Third Estate was concerned, particularly under Louis XVI.

Louis XVI was inept, and out of touch with the people. He was also a victim of circumstance. A crop failure and subsequent famine in 1788-89 sparked his downfall. What came afterwards was a terrible depredation of the Church as fanatics in the National Assembly and Convention confiscated Church lands to pay the national debt.

I find it difficult to defend Louis XVI, nor do I agree with the actions of the National Convention.

However, to get ones dander up and to blindly support a monarch who wasn't feeding his people while they starved is a bit baffling. While the National Assembly and National Convention deserve condemnation for defiling the Church, so too does Louis XVI who clearly wasn't up to the job.

For the record, I did not write the article, but I did not think it was particularly offensive either.

We have modern, American equivalents to the revolutionary radicals in our government today. These are the people we must stop while heeding the lessons of the danger they present from the past.
Mrs. Julie Jacob
4 months ago
You have just provided the "last straw"....I can no longer continue to use "Catholic" Online as an e-mail address. It is truly NOT Catholic!!! I agree totally with Mr. Louis Barta! This is deplorable slander coming from within our own ranks. No wonder Catholics today do not understand the complete and utter tragedy of the French Revolution for The Church and the world.

In your own rules for comments, you state that you will not publish any comment which denigrates the human person....well, you have done a fine job yourself of denigrating The Church and the King in your article! A retraction and apology is due on your part.
Brian
4 months ago
I just noticed that these comments have to be approved before being posted. Seriously, who approved that anti-Semitic slur?
Brian
4 months ago
I should not have been surprised to see screeds from people in the tank for absolute monarchy. May we please ask tough questions about absolute monarchy? May we please look at the ways in which the ancient regime provoked the people to revolt and take down the French Church along with it? After all, if nothing went wrong with the ancient regime and the French Church was not in the tank for it, there would be no cause. Surely the people who were manipulated by the leaders weren't subhuman barbarians. Didn't Pope Leo XIII himself distance the Church from absolute monarchy? I also noticed the phrase "Judaic-Freemason monsters." Red flag!
vance
4 months ago
Very interesting article.

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