Henri-Mathieu Planchat and 4 companions

Born into a wealthy family, Henri-Mathieu Planchat discovered his vocation through contact with the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul founded by Frédéric Ozanam. He was ordained a priest on December 21, 1850, and became the very first priest of the Institute of the Religious of Saint Vincent de Paul, founded in 1845 by Jean-Léon Le Prevost. Father Planchat devoted the bulk of his ministry to the evangelization and the material and spiritual assistance of the Parisian working class. From 1863, he directed the Sainte-Anne Patronage in the working-class district of Charonne (20th arrondissement). There, he welcomed hundreds of young apprentices and workers each year, organizing classes, training workshops, and preparing children for the sacraments. Nicknamed the "apostle of the suburbs," he distinguished himself by his absolute devotion to the most destitute. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, he set up an ambulance within his patronage to treat wounded soldiers. The Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, founded during the French Revolution by Father Pierre Coudrin and Mother Henriette Aymer de la Chevalerie, is dedicated to education, distant missions, and the perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. The four martyr companions held major responsibilities within it: Father Ladislas Radigue (Armand-Pierre), who entered the novitiate in 1843 and was ordained a priest in 1848, spent many years as master of novices. In 1868, he was appointed prior of the motherhouse on Rue de Picpus. Father Polycarpe Tuffier (Jules), who entered the congregation in 1820 and was ordained a priest in 1830, served as a chaplain and college superior, notably in Cahors from 1847 to 1858, then became procurator of the motherhouse in Paris. Father Marcellin Rouchouze (Jean-Marie), who entered the novitiate in 1837, first taught for fifteen years as a teaching brother before being ordained a priest in 1852 and serving in Belgium and then in Paris. Father Frézal Tardieu (Jean-Pierre-Eugène), received as a novice in 1837 and ordained a priest in 1840, dedicated himself to the education and formation of novices in Vaugirard and then in Louvain, before being appointed secretary general of his congregation in Paris in 1865.

The reputation of martyrdom of the five priests was immediate within the Parisian Catholic community. The diocesan process for the beatification of Father Henri-Mathieu Planchat was introduced in Paris as early as 1896. The causes of the four Picpus fathers were also investigated by their congregation. After slowing down during the 20th century, these causes were relaunched and unified in the 1990s. On November 25, 2021, Pope Francis signed the decree officially recognizing the martyrdom of Henri-Mathieu Planchat and his four companions. The Holy See established that they were put to death in odium fidei (in hatred of the faith), which dispenses with the requirement of recognizing a miracle for their beatification.

The solemn celebration of the beatification of Henri-Mathieu Planchat and his four companions took place on Saturday, April 22, 2023, at the Church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris. The beatification Mass was presided over by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, representing Pope Francis, in the presence of Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris and nearly 2,500 faithful. The following day, April 23, 2023, during the Regina Caeli prayer at the Vatican, Pope Francis honored the memory of the new blesseds. Their common liturgical feast is set for May 26, the anniversary of their birth into Heaven.

The spirituality of the five martyrs is characterized by a total abandonment to Divine Providence and an untiring pastoral zeal for the poorest. Their writings composed in captivity bear witness to a deep inner peace and a total absence of political resentment.