Blessed Ghébrē-Michael

Life story

Ghébrē-Michael was born in 1791 at Mertule Maryam in Gojjam, Ethiopia, and became a monk of the Ethiopian Church. He was known for learning and piety, but was troubled by what he saw as declining theology and discipline in the Church of his day.

He met Justin de Jacobis, a Vincentian missionary from Naples, and was impressed by both his knowledge and his life. In 1844 he was received into the Catholic Church. He wrote a catechism and translated a moral theology text into Amharic. He was ordained a priest in 1851, discreetly. He was associated with the Vincentians, although Vincentian sources stress that he was never formally a member of the congregation.

In 1855 he was arrested on a charge of heresy and imprisoned by the Ethiopian authorities, who held him in chains and had him tortured over several months to make him abandon the Catholic faith. He died that year, in July or August according to different sources, as a result of this prolonged ill-treatment. He was not executed outright, but the Church honours him as a martyr.

He was beatified in 1926 under Pope Pius XI.

Works and witness

• Became a monk of the Ethiopian Church
• Received into the Catholic Church in 1844 through de Jacobis
• Wrote a catechism and translated moral theology into Amharic
• Ordained priest in 1851
• Imprisoned and tortured; died in 1855; beatified in 1926

Saints from the same country

Saint Moses the Black, Saint Frumentius, Saint Tekle Haymanot, Saint Justin de Jacobis

References

• Dictionary of African Christian Biography: 'Gebhre Michael' (dacb.org/stories/ethiopia/gebhre-michael)
• Vincentian Family archive: 'August 31, Feast of Bl. Ghebre-Michael' (archive.famvin.org, 2008)

Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.