among other things, the end of financial support on the part of the French government and all of its subdivisions of any religious group. An inventory was ordered of all places of worship that had received subsidies from the State, and all property not legally subject to a pious foundation was to be confiscated to the State. That was a violation of the Concordat of 1801. In addition the State demanded repayment of all loans and subsidies given the Churches during the term of the Concordat. On 11 February 1906, Pope Pius X responded with the encyclical Vehementer Nos, which condemned the Law of 1905 as a unilateral abrogation of the Concordat. He wrote, "That the State must be separated from the Church is a thesis absolutely false, a most pernicious error." Diplomatic relations were broken, and did not resume until 1921. After concordats Despite huge losses in property and income, the diocese of Montauban was still able to maintain the École Saint-Théodard in Montauban for young men, and the École Jeanne-d'Arc in Montauban for young women. It also operated the Minor Seminary of the Sacred Heart, and the Institut familial. During World War I, 109 priests and 24 seminarians participated in the conflict. 9 priests and 6 seminarians died. They won one Legion of Honor, one Médaille militaire, and 43 Croix de guerre. During World War II, Montauban was a significant transit point for persons fleeing the Nazis and the Vichy government. Bishop Théas had a well-known positive attitude toward the Jews, protesting publicly against their deportation and mistreatment. He also protested publicly against the drafting of French youth into the Service du Travail Obligatoire (STO). He was arrested by the Gestapo on 9 June 1944 and interned in Toulouse; he was liberated on 30 August 1944 by the US 28th Infantry Division. The socialist former Prime Minister Léon Blum recommended Montauban to Austrian socialist leaders, and Montauban had an active office of the American Friends Service Committee (Quakers), who aided in arranging passage to Spain. Religious associations There was a convent of Cistercian monks at Belleperche (Bella pertica). The Hermits of Saint Augustine (O.E.S.A.) had a house at Montauban before 1345, headed by a Prior. The Calvinists burned the buildings on 21 August 1561, and demolished them in 1568 for building materials. They returned to Montauban in 1632, but did not recover their properties until Bishop de Bertier