France Religion

In 1632, an entire convent in the small French village of Loudun was apparently possessed by the devil. After a sensational and celebrated trial, the convent's charismatic priest Urban Grandier - accused of spiritually and sexually seducing the nuns in his charge - was convicted of being in league with Satan. Then he was burned at the stake for witchcraft. A remarkable true story of religious and sexual obsession, The Devils of Loudun is considered by many to be Brave New World author Aldous Huxley's nonfiction masterpiece.

During the tumultuous Hundred Years War between England and France, a young peasant girl nicknamed "The Maid" (La Pucelle) followed her heart and came to the aid of her nation. Facing unimaginable odds, Joan's belief in her mission from God continued to propel her forward. Within months, she was directing soldiers and bravely fighting for her nation.

The profound emotion felt around the world upon seeing images of Notre-Dame in flames opens up a series of questions: Why was everyone so deeply moved? Why does Notre-Dame so clearly crystallise what our civilisation is about? What makes ‘Our Lady of Paris’ the soul of a nation and a symbol of human achievement? What is it that speaks so directly to us today?

At the eve of the Second World War, an estimated 1.6 million Jewish children lived in Nazi-occupied Europe. While 10,000 of them escaped to Britain in the Kindertransport, only some 500 found a new home in France. Here they attempted to begin again—but their refuge would all too soon become a trap. For the first time, Laura Hobson Faure brings to life the experiences of these children, and the Jewish and non-Jewish organizations who helped them. Drawing on survivors' testimonies as well as children's diaries, letters, drawings, songs, and poems, Who Will Rescue Us? recreates their journeys.

They say that judgment does not exist in Lourdes. Once one sets foot on this hallowed soil, all barriers of race, social status, background, and religious differences cease to exist. One is no more than a humble soul in search of a renewal of one's connection to God. With promises of inner peace and spiritual awakenings, it comes as no surprise that this once unassuming town has now become the second most popular tourist destination in France, but how exactly did they achieve such a designation?

Something unimaginable occurred from 1764 to 1767 in the remote highlands of south-central France. For three years, a real-life monster, or monsters, ravaged the region, slaughtering by some accounts more than 100 people, mostly women and children, and inflicting severe injuries upon many others.

Anatole France (1844-1924) was a French poet, journalist, and novelist who wrote several best sellers. The Revolt of the Angels is a mischievous take on the theology of modern society; it chronicles the thoughts of Arcade, a lowly guardian angel, as he discovers the ugly truths of his divine master in the library of his human charge As Maurice, the young man abandoned by Arcade, struggles to get his guardian back, one gets a view of a wide variety of the author’s artistic personalities, most of whom are fallen angels.

On January 5, 1895, Captain Alfred Dreyfus's cries of innocence were drowned out by a mob shouting "Death to Judas!" In this book, Maurice Samuels gives listeners new insight into Dreyfus himself—the man at the center of the affair. He tells the story of Dreyfus's early life in Paris, his promising career as a French officer, the false accusation leading to his imprisonment on Devil's Island, the fight to prove his innocence that divided the French nation, and his life of quiet obscurity after World War I.

The Albigensian Crusade: The History and Legacy of the Catholic Campaign Against the Cathars in France examines the origins of Catharism, the conflicts with Catholicism, and the fighting that led to Cathars being stamped out across France.

You may have heard of Lourdes, a town in France where millions of people go every year, either as a tourist to take pictures or see what the hype is all about, or real believers who think that the town has a sanctity to it and can somehow cure them, help them, or inspire them through divine means. Whatever the reason for the many visitors is, it is undeniably an interesting historical heritage, something worth exploring. To be precise, Lourdes is a small market town nestled in the Pyrenees' foothills.

In the wake of the French Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of France, and Pope Pius VII shared a common goal: to reconcile the church with the state. But while they were able to work together initially, formalizing an agreement in 1801, relations between them rapidly deteriorated. In 1809, Napoleon ordered the Pope's arrest. Ambrogio Caiani provides a pioneering account of the tempestuous relationship between the emperor and his most unyielding opponent.

15 ans d'enquête sur l'après-vie pour gagner en sérénité face à la mort. Que se passe-t-il lorsque nous mourrons ? Que devient notre conscience ? Survit-elle à la mort cérébrale ? Ces questions vertigineuses se sont imposées à Stéphane Allix au moment du décès de son frère. Il a dès lors mobilisé toutes ses compétences et son instinct de journaliste pour tenter d'élucider le mystère de la conscience.

Le Maître en soi est un livre étonnant qui bouscule les croyances et ébranle les tabous. Écrit par l’auteure et animatrice France Gauthier, à partir des "canalisations" du médium Pierre Lessard, cet ouvrage transmet les enseignements du Maître Saint-Germain, basés essentiellement sur le fait que chacun de nous est un Maître, réalisé ou en devenir.

Most days you wouldn't trade what you have for the world. You love your husband and your kids, and you are grateful to God for your life. But there are days when you feel as though life is rolling over you in waves, and you are just going through the motions. You find yourself aching for something more, something that is calling to depths of who you are, maybe for something you can't even name.

Joan of Arc: The Story of the Defender and Patron Saint of France is more than just a history book—it's a journey of discovery. It is a bridge that connects us to the past, allowing us to walk through history, understanding the socio-political dynamics of Joan's time, and how they reverberate even today. It's a mirror that reflects our present, making us ponder upon the role of women, faith, and nationalism in society.

Notre Dame de Paris, in particular, is a curious specimen of this variety. Every surface, every stone of this venerable pile, is a page of the history not only of the country, but of science and of art. Thus - to mention here only a few of the chief details - whereas the small Porte Rouge almost touches the limits of 15th century Gothic delicacy, the pillars of the nave, by their massiveness and great girth, reach back to the Carlovingian Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés.

In this audiobook, read by Paul Spera, each historical event is replaced into context and presented in clear and easy-to-read snippets, so that younger and older readers can deepen their understanding of how modern France came to be and broaden their culture.

Après le succès mondial de son livre Le Secret – qui vous aidait à être et à réaliser ce que vous souhaitiez –, Rhonda Byrne a continué sa quête de la vérité universelle. Pendant quatorze ans, elle a étudié les textes anciens et modernes de la pensée bouddhique, hindouiste, chrétienne ou encore taoïste. C'est logé au cœur de ces écrits, à la vue de tous, qu'elle a découvert Le Plus Grand Secret. Ce secret, d'une simplicité étonnante mais profonde, vous montre la voie du bonheur éternel. Il vous suffit de l'accepter pour que votre vie entière soit libérée de la souffrance.

Aunque es una admirable obra de arte creada por la acción de las aguas del otrora turquesa río Gave de Pau, la modesta gruta a sus orillas, escondida en el desfiladero al norte de la Massabielle (“Vieja Misa”) en la pintoresca ciudad de Lourdes difícilmente sea la más majestuosa en la colección de la Madre Naturaleza. De hecho, la estrecha cueva era tan poco excepcional que permaneció, en buena parte, sin ser perturbada hasta mediados del siglo XVII, a excepción de alguno que otro pescador o arriero que se refugiara allí durante una tempestad inesperada.

Enduring Childhood Abuse is a heart-wrenching and awe-inspiring story of Connie F. Webster's early life. Through this audiobook, you see her childhood and young adult life full of trials: sexual abuse at a young age, kidnapping, an unexpected teen pregnancy that ends due to an accident-induced miscarriage, a long-term relationship with a substance and alcohol abuser. Unflinchingly, she tells us her stories and what she's learned from each, helping us look for the grace to overcome our own challenges.