Blessed are the Persecuted

A few years ago I decided to research my Cajun ancestors. My mother is a Melancon and a direct descendant of Pierre Melanson (original spelling) from Grand Pre’ in Nova Scotia. She grew up a devout Catholic. Her parents with their children said the rosary on their knees every evening. Her father, Newton Melancon, went to Mass with the Knights of Columbus every Monday morning and always showed up at their house after Mass to kiss her mother good morning with the saying, “Kiss me mother, I have Jesus in me!”

My research into my mother’s family history was a lesson in religious intolerance and persecution.

I was very surprised to find that the founder of the Melancon family was Pierre Laverdure, a Huguenot. Huguenots were French Protestants inspired by the writings of John Calvin. The population in France was largely Catholic. Huguenots comprised only about 1/8 of the population. In 1627, Pierre lived in La Rochelle, France, which had been established as a Huguenot sanctuary by the Edict of Nantes. In that same year, King Louis revoked the Edict of Nantes and laid siege to La Rochelle, which had a population of about 28,000 Protestants. Nothing was allowed in or out of La Rochelle. People began to starve to death.

La Rochelle surrendered after several months. Pierre Laverdure was one of only 5000 survivors. He was allowed to move to England where he met and married Priscilla Melanson. They had three sons, Pierre, Charles and John and migrated to Nova Scotia, (Acadie), while it was under British rule.

So, if Priscilla had the Melanson name and she and Pierre were staunch Protestants, how did my mother’s father get the Melancon name and the Catholic faith? The answer is love.

In 1667 Acadie was returned to France. Pierre vowed to never live under French Catholic rule again. Pierre, Priscilla and their son John moved to Boston. Sons, Pierre and Charles stayed in Acadie because they had fallen in love with Acadian girls. Both brothers married, converted to Catholism and changed their last names to Melanson. I did not find an explanation for the name change. I imagine there must have been an uproar with their father at the thought of his sons becoming Catholic!

The Melanson families prospered and practiced their faith in Acadie until once again the land came under the rule of England in 1710. England spent 40 years trying to get the Acadians to take an oath of allegiance to the English King. The Catholics saw an allegiance to a Protestant King as an act against God and so they refused.

July 31, 1755, the Acadians, including my ancestors, were rounded up and deported. Their homes and crops were destroyed. Families were separated and dispersed among the 13 British colonies. Many of them perished. For ten years, they were detained, moved around, and lived in utter misery. They managed to somehow hold onto their faith and the hope that one day they would create a new Acadie. By the end of the French and Indian War, the Acadians began arriving in Louisiana. This led to the largest group of exiled Acadians in America.

That was many generations and hundreds of years ago; yet religious persecution continues today.

Until the Declaration of Independence there was much religious intolerance and persecution in this great nation. Catholics in the 1600’s and 1700’s in some cases were legally barred from practicing their faith. Until the Declaration of Independence, many Catholics could not legally run for political office or vote.

I grew up in a nation feeling comfortable and free to live my faith. Suddenly I am questioning my religious rights that I have taken for granted for so long. My ancestors as Protestants and as Catholics were subjected to devastating persecutions by intolerant governments due to their faith. What does the future hold for my grandchildren and our family’s faith? It seems as though standing up for righteousness is a crime. Jesus did warn us.

Matthew 5:10 “Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

All I can do is continue to practice and live my faith and trust in Jesus.

My husband and I left Mass Sunday knowing that no government can take away or change our beliefs. As we got into our vehicle, my husband leaned over , puckered up and said, “Kiss me, I have Jesus in me!”