San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1926-01-24
PARIS, January ID.

~ Nv of the Able Denoyer the other
H. day and saved the good priest
from death at the hands of those who
sswere driving the devils" from his body,
"a great light was suddenly and unexpect-
eddy flashed upon group cf ignorant
modern believers in devils, evil spirits and
black magic who belong back in the dark
ages. The French nation stands appalled,
at the recent revelations which have fol-
lowed the attack upon Able Denoyer.
!. The Able Denoyer is the parish priest
Fof the little village of Bombon, near
Melun. The other day band of devil
-hunters--ten men and two women
forced their way at the conclusion of mass
into the church vestry, blinded Able
Denoyer with pepper, stripped him, bound
him firmly to table, and then proceeded
to beat him cruelty with knotted rope,
such as was used by the flagellators in
olden times, each taking a turn as the
others grew tired.
The Able was bleeding and helpless
when, luckily for him, the genarems
:, passed that way and heard his means.
They entered in time to prevent the mys-
: tics from giving the priest the final tor
ture which might have been fatal.
q The assailants who were all arrested,
belonged to the Mystic Order of Our
Lady of Tears. 1t was founded in 1920
by Marie Mesmin, former janitress, who
herself headed the attacking party. The
order worshipped strange plaster statue
= called "Our Lady Of Tears" which shed
real tears whenever they prayed to it.
Hundreds of deyotees have made pilgrim
ages to the shrine of this image at Bor-
deaux.
: y The Able Denoyer explained how ne
\. came to be drawn into the affairs of this
strange sect by saying:
MADAME Mesmin sent for me several
years ago, and at her invitation and that
of her friends ] performed ritual OF
casting out devils, with which they be-
lieved she was possessed.
afterwards they warned me to deslst
from what they called my witchcraft.
Then they threatened to return ana peat
the devil out of me until was half dead
This threat they unfortunately carried
out. although the whole affair is mys-
81 am poor priest, while Marie Mes
min is a former concierge who has grown
rich in a most dangerous cult"
The Able stated that Marie Mesmin
had instigated an attack upon Syrian
archimandrite. a high ecclesiastic Of the
Syrian church. for the same reasons as
that made on himself.
II appeared probable that if the fanat-
les had not been stopped by the gendarmes
they would have performed the most afro
cious of medieval. devil-hunting rites, in
GLIDING cutting off the Abbe's tongue,
3D.. sealing up his mouth and burning the
-- soles of his feet This would probably
have meant death. II was proved that
such an outrage was planned, for one Of
the women was an ed with a heavy, sharp
"- pair OF shears and big bundle Of sealing
wax.
The police investigation revealed an
astonishing mass Of superstitiOus prac-
tees and beliefs. The followers Of the
cult attributed to Able Denoyer every
rv, misfortune. from death in their families
90 and loss Of cattle 70 the fall Of the franc.
Madame Robert. one devotee who was
accompanied by her seventeen-year-old
daughter, testified that her husband, an
~ officer serving in Syria, had been killed
nv Able Denoyer's "black magic"
. She described how she and Marie Mes
. min, in Bombon, had seen in vision the
headless figure Of Captain Robert run
ming after his head in the Syrian desert.
One Of the devotees asserted IN court
that they had performed an act Of piety
@ in beating the Able, because:
"He was possessed of the devil"
81 Since this occurrence investigation has
shown an astonishing belief in witchcrsft,
magic, and the material activities Of the
devil and his assistant demons IN many
r parts of France. It appears that the peo-
ple are nearly as superstitious as they
we're in the days Of Paracelsus, Hermes
Trismegistus, Csgliostro and other notori-
Gus magicians Of medieval and later
times
At s., Loup, little village in south
eastern France, great excitement has