

Intersection of Life and Faith

Napoleon Bonaparte - August 15

  • 2013 15 Aug
Napoleon Bonaparte - August 15


He conquered from Austria to Palestine, Holland to Egypt, uncovered Pyramid treasures and the Rosetta Stone. He sold a million square miles of land to US. to raise money for his army. His name was Napoleon Bonaparte, born AUGUST 15, 1769. In 1797, Napoleon said to the parish priests in Milan: "A society without religion is like a ship without a compass." Though emperor for life, disastrous losses in Russia and Waterloo led to his banishment in 1815 to the South Atlantic Island of Saint Helena, where he dictated his "Mémoires" to General Charles Tristan de Montholon, Baron Gaspar Gourgaud and General Henri Gratien Bertrand. Additionally, Emmanuel de Las Cases recorded a journal the emperor's conversations titled "Mémorial de Sainte Hélène." At the beginning of his captivity, Napoleon complained to Montholon of having no chaplain. Pope Pius VII petitioned England to grant Napoleon's wish and Abbé Vignali became his chaplain. To Montholon, Napoleon affirmed his belief in God and read aloud the Old Testament, the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. Napoleon stated: "The Bible is no mere book, but a Living Creature, with a power that conquers all that oppose it."