The Louviers Possessions

The possessions at the Ursuline convent of Louviers, France, between 1643 and 1647 became one of the most notorious witch trials of the seventeenth century. Eighteen nuns exhibited symptoms of demonic possession, leading to sensational exorcisms, accusations against their confessors, and the unprecedented execution of a corpse alongside a living priest.

Background

The convent of Saint-Louis-et-Sainte-Elizabeth at Louviers had a troubled reputation even before the possessions began. Two chaplains, Father Pierre David and Father Mathurin Picard, had introduced unusual spiritual practices, including having the nuns receive communion naked and participate in ceremonies that blurred the line between mysticism and scandal.

When Father David died in 1628, Father Picard continued these practices until his death in 1642. Shortly after Picard’s death, the nuns began to exhibit signs of possession.

The Possessions

Sister Madeleine Bavent, who had allegedly been seduced by Father Picard, was the first to show symptoms. She convulsed, spoke in strange voices, and accused the dead priest of witchcraft. Soon, seventeen other nuns exhibited similar behaviors.

The possessed nuns claimed to have attended witches’ sabbaths with Father Picard, to have signed pacts with demons, and to have engaged in obscene rituals. They writhed during exorcisms, spoke in voices not their own, and displayed apparent knowledge of hidden things.

The exorcisms became public spectacles, with the nuns performing their possession before crowds that included clergy, nobility, and common observers.

Accusations

The nuns accused three figures of their torment: the dead Father Picard, the living Father Thomas Boullé (Picard’s successor), and Sister Madeleine Bavent herself.

Madeleine, whose testimony had helped start the affair, found herself accused by her fellow nuns. She was examined for witch’s marks, tortured, and eventually forced to confess to attending sabbaths and copulating with demons.

Trial and Executions

The trial that followed was a sensation. Father Boullé denied all charges despite torture. Madeleine confessed under pressure but later recanted. The dead Father Picard could not defend himself.

The court’s verdict was severe. Father Picard’s body was exhumed and publicly burned. Father Boullé was burned alive. Madeleine Bavent was sentenced to life imprisonment in a church dungeon, where she died years later.

Aftermath

The possessions continued even after the executions, undermining claims that removing the witches would end the demonic influence. Eventually, the affair subsided, though not before several more nuns had died under suspicious circumstances.

The Louviers case became a cause célèbre, cited by both believers in witchcraft and early skeptics. It demonstrated the deadly consequences when accusations of possession met political ambition, religious controversy, and sexual scandal.

Assessment

The Louviers possessions followed the template established at Aix-en-Provence and developed at Loudun: nuns accused their confessors of witchcraft, public exorcisms provided entertainment and evidence, and priests were executed based on testimony that might today be attributed to hysteria, delusion, or malice.

Whether the nuns genuinely believed themselves possessed, were seeking revenge for abuse they had suffered, were manipulated by political enemies of the accused priests, or were mentally ill, the result was the same: a corpse was burned, a priest was executed, and a woman was buried alive in a dungeon.