On this day in history, 24th August 1572, during the reign of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn’s daughter Elizabeth I, 3,000 Huguenots (French Protestants) were massacred in Paris and a further 7,000 in the provinces in the following days.
You can read more about it in my article St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre
It was an event celebrated by Pope Gregory XIII and Rome. The Pope ordered the singing of a Te Deum and a commemorative medal to be struck. This medal depicted the Pope’s head on one side and an image of an angel, holding a sword and a cross, standing over the fallen Huguenots with the motto “UGONOTTORUM STRAGES” or “Huguenot Bloodbath”.
