In religious communities, there is a practice to read a biography of a martyr before meals as if their blood is an aperitif. In the Eucharistic Prayer I of the Mass, several names of martyrs and saints are being mentioned. Their blood poured out, united to the sacred blood of Jesus become the fragrance of the sacrifice offered to the Father.

In Peter’s Basilica in Rome, under the altar of the Pope is the place where St. Peter was martyred. In the Basilica di Santa Maria in Ara coeli, the relics of St. Joannes de Triora, OFM, can be found. He did missionary work in Shanxi and Hunan, Mainland China. On February 13, 1816, he was executed by hanging. Archbishop Leonard Hsu, OFM, once said: “St. Joannes de Triora was a Franciscan missionary that is why he is venerated in this church managed by the Franciscans”.

In the Generalate of the Paris Foreign Mission Society, there is a Mission Cultural Museum. Inside, there are tombs and relics of Bishop Joannes Dufresse, MEP. In the beginning, he used the name Fr. Lee Duo Lin to enter Sichuan to do missionary work. He was arrested by the soldiers and sent to Beijing. The Emperor reduced his penalty and deported him to Guanzhou. Fr. Lee went to Manila and changed his name to Xu Dexin. He successfully slipped back to Sichuan. After he became a bishop, he organized in Sichuan an Academic Conference. When new religious persecution arose, Bishop Dufresse was captured and imprisoned in Chengdu where he was martyred in September 1815.

In Seoul, Korea, aside from the Shanan Ji Martyrs Memorial Church, there is also a bronze statue of Fr. Zhou Wen Mo. Fr. Zhou was from Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. He was assigned to Korea to preach the Gospel. He was executed to death in an old barracks in Shah Nanji on December 23, 1794.

In many places in Korea, one could see a tall and huge bronze statue of Fr. Andrew Kim Taegon. Fr. Kim sailed across the Yalu River to enter Mainland China. He went through several provinces, crossed the Yellow River, Yangtze River and several rivers, and reached Macau. There he studied theology and then went to Shanghai. He was ordained as the first Korean priest by French bishop Jean Joseph Ferreol in Kim Jia Xiang on August 17, 1845. After ordination, he moved back to Korea by boat and was arrested on his way to visit Seoul after disembarkation. In 1846, at the age of 25, he was tortured and beheaded near Seoul in the Han River. He is the patron saint of Korea and the patron saint of the Major Seminary in Seoul.

In Japan, there are two Chinese young martyrs, one is a 13-year-old Cheng An Dao. The other is Sheng Lu Yi Zi (Lorenzo Ruiz) whose mother was a Filipino. Sheng Lu Yi Zi was 13 years old when he was put to death in Nagasaki. Pope John Paul II canonized Lorenzo Ruiz on February 18, 1981 in Manila.

The former Manila Archbishop Cardinal Sin was a native of Fujian Province. In response to the call of the Pope to preach the Gospel in China, Cardinal Sin particularly presented Sheng Lu Yi Zi (Lorenzo Ruiz) as the patron saint of the San Lorenzo Ruiz Seminary. It is for the formation of priests who will preach to Chinese people. Fr. Emilio Ascano who was once a parish priest in Peitou, Taipei City, and Fr. Roberto Barcelona of Sungshan Parish, are both members of this community.

Fr. John Gabriel Perboyre, CM, is the first canonized martyr of China. He saw Fr. Francis Regis Clet, CM, gave his life in China. He wanted to follow the steps of Fr. Wu Liu to do missionary work in China, going to Henan and Hubei. After being betrayed for 30 renminbi, he was tortured and died on the cross. After his death, he was deeply admired by people from all over Europe and America. Through his intercession and many miracles and graces were received. The Pope canonized him on June 2, 1996 becoming the first canonized martyr of China.

Fr. Francisco Fernandez de Capillas was the first martyr in China. He was assigned to evangelize China in 1641. He set out from Manila, passing Taiwan, stayed there for some months before he went to evangelize in the Fujian province. He was arrested by soldiers, beheaded and died in Fu-an on January 15, 1648.

Priest who were martyred in Taiwan are: Fr. Vaez de Santo Domingo who preached to the people in Tansui. The local tribesmen had conflict among themselves. Fr. Vaez went to visit another tribe that made the natives jealous. He was murdered by an attacker called Pila. He lanced a spear on the breast of Fr. Vaez, decapitated and amputated him. Then he brought the head and arm of Fr. Vaez and fled to the mountain of Beitou. This happened on January 27, 1633. The other martyr is Fr. Louis Muro. Fr. Muro rode on the military boat from Tansui to go to Taipei to look for missing people. On his way, he met a surprise attack by the natives. He was heavily shot with arrows and died in March 1633. After his death, he was buried under the garrison fort of Tansui.

The Chinese Martyrs and Saints shed their blood all over our land. They are like a great cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1) who look upon our spiritual growth. Many people feel that now there is lack of vocation, not enough direct evangelization, poor witnessing, as if we are in the situation of blood loss, anemia. Let us go to the martyrs and accept their blood transfusion treatment, increase the blood, so that we can be filled with the spirit of martyrdom, to become a good witness of the Lord and proclaim the Catholic faith.

Chinese Martyrs and Saints of China, pray for us!