Île Madame () is an island in the

Charente Charente (; Saintongese: ''Chérente''; oc, Charanta ) is a department in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, south western France. It is named after the river Charente, the most important and longest river in the department, an ...

estuary on the Atlantic coast of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

joined to the mainland by a causeway. The island has an area of four square miles and is unpopulated. It is part of the town

Port-des-Barques Port-des-Barques () is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. Population See also * Communes of the Charente-Maritime department The following is a list of the 463 communes of the Charente-M ...

. Hundreds of Catholic priests were held prisoner on the island during anti-clerical persecution in 1794. A total of 254 died before the survivors were allowed to leave. The priests who were held prisoner and those who died on the island are commemorated during a pilgrimage there each August.

External links

Article by Jonathan Luxmoore for Catholic News Service

Madame Madame may refer to: * Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French * Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel * ''Madame'' ...

River islands of France {{CharenteMaritime-geo-stub