Father Joseph Passerat, C.Ss.R

The Sword of Napoleon and the Cross of Father Joseph Passerat: A Tale of Two Empires
This historical account is largely accurate and highlights one of the most remarkable aspects of Maltese history:

The legacy of the Sacra Infermeria (the Holy Infirmary) in Valletta.

1. The Hospital "Open to All"
The Sacra Infermeria was established by the Order of St. John (Knights of
Malta) in 1574. It became world-renowned for its egalitarian approach to medi‐
cine, which was centuries ahead of its time.
Universal Care: Unlike most hospitals in Europe at the time, the Sacra Infermeria
admitted patients regardless of their social class, nationality, or religion. Records
show that even "infidels" (non-Christians, including Muslims and Jews) were
treated with the same standards as Christian patients.
The Silver Service: To ensure the highest level of hygiene, patients were fa‐
mously served on silver plates and bowls. While this was a mark of luxury, its
primary purpose was antimicrobial; silver helped prevent the spread of infection
between patients of different backgrounds.
Source: Dr. Paul Cassar, a renowned Maltese medical historian, particularly his
book The Medical History of Malta. He extensively documents the hospital's re‐
gulations (Ordini) which mandated care for "any soul."

2. The French Invasion and the Exclusion of Locals
When Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Malta in June 1798, he radically altered the
function of the hospital.
Conversion to a Military Hospital: Within days of the invasion, Napoleon's com‐
manders seized the Sacra Infermeria and renamed it the Grand Hôpital.
Exclusion of the Public: It was selectively reserved for French troops. The local
Maltese population, who had relied on the hospital for centuries, were largely
displaced. This exclusion, along with the looting of the hospital's famous silver
and Church treasures to fund Napoleon's Egyptian campaign, was a major cata‐
lyst for the Maltese uprising against the French in September 1798.
Condition of the Hospital: During the subsequent Siege of Malta (1798–1800),
the French garrison suffered from scurvy and malnutrition. The hospital became
a grim place, overcrowded with sick soldiers while the Maltese population had to
set up makeshift hospitals (like those in Mdina and Rabat) to care for their own
wounded.
Source: Dr. Claude-Etienne Robert, the French Physician-in-Chief during the oc‐
cupation. His writings (published around 1802) detail how the hospital was ma‐
naged exclusively for the French garrison.
Summary
"The Sanctuary of the Silver Plates: How Napoleon Ended 200 Years of Uni‐
versal Care."
It would contrast the Knights' religious mission (Tuitio Fidei et Obsequium Paupe‐
rum—Defense of the Faith and Assistance to the Poor) with the secular, but ulti‐
mately exclusionary, military pragmatism of the Napoleonic forces. etc.

The Napoleonic era represents a pivotal, and often catastrophic, shift in European history. By exporting the ideals of the French Revolution—driven by the rising bourgeoisie through the force of the "Grande Armée," Napoleon dismantled the old organic order of Europe and replaced it with a mechanical, centralising state.

This sparked a fire of militant nationalism that would burn for two centuries, ultimately providing the ideological blueprint for later figures like Bismarck and the total wars of the 20th century.

1. Spain: The Martyrdom of a People
It was actually Francisco Goya who immortalised the Napoleonic devastations
in Spain. El Greco died nearly two centuries before Napoleon; however, the dee‐
ply traditional, Catholic Spain that El Greco painted was exactly what Napoleon
sought to destroy.
In the Peninsular War (1807–1814), the French bourgeoisie's "enlightened" em‐
pire met a "Crusade" of Spanish peasants and clergy. The pillaging was
systematic:
The Desecration of Churches: French troops treated Spanish cathedrals as
stables. They melted down sacred vessels for bullion and stripped gold from
altars.
The "Disasters of War": Goya's famous series of etchings, The Disasters of War,
depicts the horrific reality: mass executions, the starvation of civilians in Madrid,
and the brutal "scorched earth" tactics used by French Marshals like Masséna.
The Massacre of 3 May 1808: This remains the ultimate symbol of Napoleonic
"liberty" at the end of a bayonet—the execution of Spanish patriots in Madrid.

2. The Kingdom of Naples: The End of Organic Monarchy
In Southern Italy, the Napoleonic invasion was an assault on the traditional
bonds between the Bourbon monarchy and the Lazzaroni (the poor of Naples).
Pillage of Treasures: Under Joseph Bonaparte and later Joachim Murat, the trea‐
sures of the Neapolitan crown and the Church were plundered.
The Sanfedista Counter-Revolution: The resistance was led by Cardinal Fabri‐
zio Ruffo, who raised the "Army of the Holy Faith" (Sanfedisti) to restore the
King and the Altar. The ensuing civil war saw villages burned and thousands
slaughtered as the French tried to impose a foreign, secular administrative model
on a deeply religious population.
Destruction of Feudal Protections: While the French claimed to "abolish feuda‐
lism," they actually stripped away the traditional protections and common lands
that the poor relied on, leaving them at the mercy of the new bourgeois
landowners.

3. The Long Shadow: From Napoleon to Hitler
It is historically astute to link Napoleon to the nationalist catastrophes of the
19th and 20th centuries. Napoleon's "Nation in Arms" (the levée en masse)
changed the nature of war from a limited conflict between kings into Total War
between peoples.
Bismarck and German Nationalism: Napoleon's humiliation of Prussia and his
dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 created a wounded German pride.
This "Nationalist" seed grew into Bismarck's "Blood and Iron" policy. Napoleon
inadvertently created the German nationalism that would eventually return to
destroy France.
The Blueprint for Totalitarianism: Napoleon's use of secret police (Fouché), state
propaganda, and the forced conscription of millions served as the structural pre‐
cursor to the 20th-century dictators. The "Napoleonic Myth" glamorised the sa‐
crifice of innocent lives for the "glory" of the state, a secular religion that reached
its darkest conclusion in the 1940s.

4. The Human Cost
Historians estimate that the Napoleonic Wars caused between 3.5 million and 6
million deaths (military and civilian combined). For the time, this was a demo‐
graphic disaster of unprecedented proportions. Whole regions of the Vendée
(within France), Spain, and the Tyrol were decimated because they refused to ac‐
cept the "New World Order" of the French bourgeoisie.
"He was a man who, to satisfy his own ambition, did not care if he sacrificed the
lives of millions." — A common sentiment among the European peasantry of the
1810s.
After describing the millions of lives sacrificed to the nationalist wars of Napo‐
leon and Hitler, introducing the "Grand Priant" provides a perfect contrast. He
was a man who literally walked away from the machinery of death to build a
machinery of grace. It shows that the Redemptorist vocation is the specific re‐
medy for the "Napoleonic" world.

Ending with the transalpine Redemptorists who actually brought the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer "across the Alps" (Trans-alpine) will explain our dearest readers exactly how Divine Providence works: "Everything turns unto good for those who love God" saint Paul.

While the 'Grand Army' of the world marched toward the disasters of the later
two 20th century's world wars, a a peaceful and free gathering of souls was for‐
ming in the silence of prayer. In the person of Joseph Passerat who fled the
conscription of the Revolution to embrace the Redemptorist life started by St Al‐
fonso Maria de Liguori, the Sacred Heart found a faithful minister. He did not fol‐
low the King of France Louis XVI into misfortune; instead, he followed the King of
Kings across the Alps, ensuring that the light of the Redemption would never be
extinguished by the darkness of the Age of Man and its luciferian false
Enlightenment.

The term "false lumières" (false lights), correctly identifies the Enlightenment
(Les Lumières) not as a source of true reason, but as a Luciferian parody of the
Light of the World.
Just as Lucifer name means "Light-bearer," these "false lights" promised an intel‐
lectual liberation that actually led to the darkness of the guillotine, the Napoleonic wars, and the industrialised slaughter of the 20th century.

The history of the French Monarchy is defined by a pact with Heaven. From the
baptism of Clovis to the mission of St Joan of Arc, the "Eldest Daughter of the
Church" held her throne as a lieutenancy for Christ. However, in 1689, when the
Sacred Heart requested a formal consecration through St Margaret Mary Ala‐
coque, the Sun King, Louis XIV, hesitated. Influenced by a "withered Christianity"
and advisers who feared the "bad politics" of such a devotion, the King ignored
the celestial message. He preferred the False Lumières of human prestige and
the rising tide of bourgeois rationalism over the "folly" of the Cross.

The Misfortune of the Total State
The consequences of this delay were catastrophic. As the Sacred Heart warned
Sister Lucia of Fatima in 1931: "They follow the example of the King of France...
they shall follow him into misfortune." The Luciferian False Lumières of the
French Revolution sought to decapitate the Social Kingship of Christ. In its place,
it erected the "Total State"—a mechanical, soulless entity that viewed man only
as a resource. This fire of nationalist pride swept through Europe under Napo‐
leon, destroying the organic order of the Kingdom of Naples and the traditional
heart of Spain. This same fire later fueled the "Blood and Iron" of Bismarck and
the ultimate pagan darkness of Hitler's National Socialism.

The Resistance: Father Joseph Passerat
In the midst of this darkness, God raised a counter-sign. Venerable Joseph Pas‐
serat, the "Grand Priant," was a young man caught in the machinery of the Na‐
poleonic army. Recognizing the service of the Emperor as a service to the "False
Lumières," he fled his conscription to follow the divine call.
With his superior St Clement Mary Hofbauer, Passerat became a father to the
Transalpine Redemptorists. While the secular world was being devoured by na‐
tionalist wars and the sacrifice of millions of innocent lives, Father Passerat was
meticulously preserving the original Christian faith.

Conclusion: The Two Empires
History presents us with two paths. There is the path of the false lumières, which
begins with the pride of kings and ends in the ruins of Berlin and the socialist
wars and "errors of Russia." And there is the path of the Redemption, which be‐
gins in the silence of prayer and the fidelity to the Jesus Christ's peaceful
teaching.

Venerable Joseph Passerat reminds us that the only way to escape the "misfor‐
tune" of the world is to refuse the conscription of the Age of Man and return to
the Sacred Heart of Jesus : "Behold this Heart which has so loved mankind that
It has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming Itself, to testify Its love
for them." For any Christians, the spiritual mission remains unchanged: to be the
light of Christ in a world blinded by the false glares of the Revolution, of natura‐
lism and materialism.

The story of Venerable Father Joseph Passerat is the perfect bridge for our nar‐
rative. He represents the literal "escape" from the Napoleonic machine to the ser‐
vice of the Divine King. His life perfectly illustrates the conflict between the
conscription of the State and the vocation of the Soul.

Here is how his life completes the historical link for our transalpine redemptorist
history:

The Divine Request: The Sacred Heart to Louis XIV (The Pact).
The Refusal: The Bourbon Kings and the "Withered Christianity" of the advisors.
The Consequence: The French Revolution (and the "Misfortune" told to Sister
Lucia.)
The Shadow: The link between the Napoleonic wars, Bismarck, and Hitler (The
Total State).

1. The Escape from the Napoleonic "Gallows"
Born 30 April 1772 in France at Joinville, Joseph Passerat was a young semina‐
rian when the Revolution broke out. Like so many others, he was forcibly
conscripted into the Napoleonic armies.
For the "Grand Priant," this was not just a military service; it was a spiritual im‐
prisonment by the very regime that was pillaging churches and spreading secu‐
larism. His escape from the army was his first act of resistance—a refusal to of‐
fer his life to the "Emperor" so that he might offer it to the "Redeemer."

2. The "Transalpine" Pioneer
With St Clement Mary Hofbauer, Father Passerat became the engine of the
Congregation's growth. When you speak of the "Transalpine Redemptorists,"
you are speaking of the movement led by Hofbauer and Passerat to bring the
spirit of St Alphonsus "across the Alps"—from the Mediterranean warmth of
Naples to the cold, rationalist, and war-torn heart of Northern Europe (Warsaw,
Vienna, Switzerland, and Belgium).

3. "Le Grand Priant" vs. The Napoleonic tyranny
While Napoleon was setting Europe on fire with nationalist wars, Father Passe‐
rat was extinguishing those fires with prayer and the founding of communities.
The Contrast: Napoleon moved millions of men for the sake of his own glory;
Passerat moved Redemptorist missionaries to the USA and across Europe for the
sake of abandoned souls.
Contemplation in Action: His title, "The Grand Priant" (The Great Pray-er), is the
ultimate rebuke to the doctor Guillotin's activism of the Revolution. He proved
that the only way to rebuild a decimated Europe was through the interior life and
the strict adherence to the Catholic Faith.
While the Napoleonic era sought to mechanise man into a soldier for the state,
Passerat—'The Grand Priant'—restored man to his role as a child of God.
Through his fidelity to the teaching of the Bible and his mastery of the contem‐
plative life, he became a great peacemaker in a Europe torn by wars. He reminds
us of the words of saint John: "For God so loved the world, as to give his
only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in him, may not perish,
but may have life everlasting."

El Tres de Mayo, by Francisco de Goya (1814), from el Museo del Prado

"The Third of May" depicts the surrender of a group of Spanish civilian parti-
sans to a Napoleonic firing squad in 1808. The civilians' fear is counterposed
with a pile of massacred bodies and dark, faceless soldiers.

El Tres de Mayo de 1808 is the "shatter point" where the Enlightenment's pro‐
mise of reason met the cold reality of fallen nature: when a military force ope‐
rates outside the bounds of Divine Law and Charity, the consequences are both
predictable and devastating: the dehumanisation of the war machine, the mas‐
sacre of innocent lives.

The anatomy of the painting

1. The "Mechanical" Firing Squad (The Dark Mind) The French soldiers are de‐
picted as a faceless, grey block. Goya paints them from the back to show they
have lost their individuality. They represent the "Mastery of Nature" turned into
a machine. Their rifles are the "Steel" of technology used not to protect, but to
erase the "gathering of souls."

2. The "Cruciform" Laborer (The Sacred Heart Echo) The central figure in the
white shirt is not a king or a general; he is a poor laborer. Notice his posture:
The Gesture: His arms are raised in the same "V" shape as the Crucified Christ.
The Stigmata: If you look closely at his right hand, Goya has painted a small
mark—a stigma—linking this Spanish peasant directly to the sacrifice of the
Savior.
The Light: The "Mind's Science" (the human attempt to organize, control, and
master the world through logic, technology, and willpower) is represented by the
square lantern on the ground. But in a "Crystalline" twist, the light doesn't seem
to come from the lantern; it seems to radiate from the man's white shirt. The
Heart is outshining the Technology.

3. The Presence of the Church In the crowd of victims, Goya includes a monk (a
tonsured friar) with his hands clasped in prayer. He represents the "Silence of
Prayer". Even the Church is being lined up for execution by the Napoleonic "Hu‐
bris" that sought to replace God with the State.
If Louis XIV's refusal of the Sacred Heart was the "spiritual seed" of the disaster,
Goya's painting is the harvest.
1689: The King refuses to put the Sacred Heart on his banners.
1789: The Revolution begins.
1808: The "Grand Army" arrives to butcher the faithful.
Perhaps the most redemptive truth of Napoleon's legacy is that, after the setting
of his earthly sun on St Helena, he received the Last Rites before he died.
"Napoleon brought a false enlightenment at the end of a bayonet; Goya brought
the true Light at the end of a brush."
Goya showed that when the mind forgets the Fall, it creates
a hell on earth.