Saint Auguste Chapdelaine
French missionary executed in Guangxi in 1856
- Rank
- Saint
- Kind
- Martyr, Priest, Missionary
- Life
- 1814 – 1856
- Era
- 19th century
- Feast
- 28 February
- Countries
- France, China
Life story
Auguste Chapdelaine was born on 6 January 1814 on a farm at La Rochelle-Normande in France; some sources give 6 February. He entered the seminary at Coutances, was ordained for the diocese of Coutances in 1843 and joined the Paris Foreign Missions Society in 1851.
He set out in April 1852 for Guangxi in China and also worked at Guangzhou and Guiyang. In 1854 he was jailed in the Xilin county prison and released after about two weeks.
He was denounced in February 1856 and arrested on 24 or 25 February at Yaoshan village on the orders of the local mandarin, accused of stirring up rebellion. He was put to death by confinement in a cage, which caused suffocation, and was then beheaded; the date is usually given as 29 February 1856, though some sources give 26 or 27 February.
His death was later invoked by the French government when it intervened in China, so his fate is tied to the international politics of the time. He was beatified in 1900 and canonised by Pope John Paul II on 1 October 2000 together with 119 other martyrs of China.
Works and witness
- Ordained in 1843 and joined the Paris Foreign Missions Society in 1851
- Went to Guangxi as a missionary in 1852
- Arrested on 24 or 25 February 1856
- Executed in late February 1856
- Canonised on 1 October 2000
Saints from the same country
References
- Decree of canonisation of the Martyrs of China, 1 October 2000
- Paris Foreign Missions Society (MEP) archives, biography of Auguste Chapdelaine
- Martyrologium Romanum
Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.