The burial of Jean-Baptiste Gellé from a liberal perspective

The conflict between the church leader and the liberal bourgeoisie escalates when the Apostolic Vicar refuses a church burial for Jean-Baptiste Gellé, a government member and Freemason, who passed away at the age of 69 in 1847. Gellé had always been open to the Catholic Church. The founder of the Franciscan Sisters, Elisabeth Dufaing, had cared for Gellé's sister Marianne. For this reason, the siblings Jean-Baptiste and Catherine deed their house in Rue du Saint-Esprit to the city of Luxembourg with the wish to leave it to the Franciscan Sisters of Mercy, who dedicate themselves to serving the sick.