On This Day December 26 1767

Remembering Marie Durand

Khen Lim



Image source: museeprotestant.org

On December 26 1767, 36 women were released from prison in the Tower of Constance. Most were in a bad condition. One of them, Marie Durand, had been imprisoned for 38 years.

Perched on the swamps of the Rhone River, the Tower of Constance has had an interesting history on its own but by 1632, with the Catholics regaining control of it from the Protestants, King Louis XIV turned it into a women’s prison where little air and light seeped through the narrow gaps in the wall. The women herded into the upper room were treated as heretics but one in particular never yielded despite torture and indoctrination.

In 1730, the 15-year-old Marie was arrested and removed from her home in Bouchet-de-Pransles because her brother, Pierre, was a Huguenot pastor who held Protestant meetings at their home. Known as the ‘Pastor of the Desert’ (relating to the mysterious woman in Rev 12:6), he was on the run and so the government took out her father, Etienne, and Matthew Serres, the suitor he arranged for Marie so that she could be cared for, and held them at a fort. 

In 1732, Pierre was finally captured and hanged.

Plaque in memory of Pastor Pierre Durand. The plaque says, "In the memory of Pastor Pierre Durand, condemned to death and executed in Montpellier. 1700 - 1732. And of her sister, Marie Durand, prisoner for 38 years in the Tour de Constance. 1715 - 1776. "If my Saviour calls me to seal His Holy Gospel with my blood, His will is perfect." - Pierre Durand. "Registez" (Resist) attributed to Marie Durand. Take note that baptismal registry found later confirmed she was born in 1711 (and not as per listed in 1715). Image source: huguenotheritage.com

Marie’s life in the Tower defined her service to Christ. Despite her age, she inspired her inmates by being a tireless Christian leader for 38 years, nursing the sick, writing letters for the illiterates, reading psalms aloud every evening, encouraging the singing of hymns (even if not all of them were Christians). They all knew of her family and accorded her respect for her piety. And all were blessed through her.

It was Marie who also wrote to petition churches and government offices for better prison conditions and in fact had also involved leading philosophers such as Voltaire and Rousseau. Her tireless efforts had resulted in all the inmates given copies of Psalms. They were also allowed to air themselves at the rooftop of the Tower. Through all of her 38 years, Marie’s walk of faith had neither tired nor ceased.

Finally her appeals for better conditions reached a disgusted governor of Languedoc who ignored King Louis XV’s objections and had all the inmates finally released. Marie returned to her childhood home but one where none of her family had survived. For the remainder of her life, the Amsterdam Walloon church took it upon themselves to support her till her death in 1776.