Francis Ferdinand de Capillas

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Saint

Francis Fernández de Capillas

O.P.
Roman Catholicism
Beatified2 May 1909 by Pope Pius X
Canonized1 October 2000 by Pope John Paul II
Major shrineDominican Priory of St. Paul
Valladolid, Spain
Feast15 January

Francis Fernández (or Ferdinand) de Capillas (15 August 1607 – 15 January 1648) was a

Spanish Dominican friar who went as a missionary to Asia. He died in China as a martyr. He was canonized by Pope John Paul II on 1 October 2000, as one of the 120 Martyrs of China.[1]

De Capillas is honored by the

protomartyr among the missionaries in China, and is considered the glory and pride of the Dominican Order
.

Biography

De Capillas was born in

priest.[2] De Capillas remained there for the next decade, working alongside his fellow friars. His own field of labor was the district of Tuao, Cagayan Valley, on the island of Luzon.[3]

De Capillas considered that time spent in the Philippines as a period of preparation for a mission to China. At the Provincial Chapter held by the friars of the Order in Manila in 1641, he was given permission to transfer to the Order's mission there, soon transferring to that island, along with a friend, Francisco Díez. He was one of the last Spanish missionaries in Taiwan before they were ousted from the island by the Dutch later that same year.[4][5]

The two friars arrived in the Province of

conquest of the Ming Dynasty. The new dynasty was hostile to Christianity and immediately began to persecute the Christians.[6]

On 13 November 1647, De Capillas was captured while returning from Fogan, where he had gone to administer the sacraments to a sick person. Enduring many insults, he was taken to the local prison where he was repeatedly tortured.[7] He was moved, almost dying, to a prison where they locked up those criminals condemned to death.[2] His example and words led the jailors to show him leniency and allow food and drink to be brought to him, which he shared with other prisoners.[8]

While in prison, he wrote

I am here with other prisoners and we have developed a fellowship. They ask me about the Gospel of the Lord. I am not concerned about getting out of here because here I know I am doing the will of God. They do not let me stay up at night to pray, so I pray in bed before dawn. I live here in great joy without any worry, knowing that I am here because of Jesus Christ. The pearls I have found here these days are not always easy to find.[2]

On 15 January 1648 De Capillas was sentenced to death on charges of disseminating false doctrines and inciting the people against the new Emperor. His death sentence, by decapitation, was carried out at Fogan the same day. He thus became the first martyr within the Chinese empire.[7]

Veneration

De Capillas was

protomartyr by the Holy See
.

See also
  • List of saints
  • "Francis Ferdinand de Capillas". Patron Saint Index. Archived from the original on 31 March 2006. Retrieved 6 May 2006.

References

  1. ^ "Den hellige Frans Fernández de Capillas (1607-1648)" (in Norwegian). katolsk.no. Archived from the original on 9 February 2008. Retrieved 24 April 2009.
  2. ^ a b c d "Dominicans of Singapore "St. Francis de Capillas"". Archived from the original on 14 March 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  3. ISBN 9780814631867
  4. ^ Andrade, Tonio. "Appendix B: Governors-General, Governors, and Missionaries". How Taiwan Became Chinese.
  5. ^ "Saint Francisco Fernandez de Capillas, Protomartyr of China, January 15". The Black Cordelias. 15 January 2009. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  6. ^ Vatican News Service Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ a b "Saint François Fernandez de Capillas", Nominis
  8. ^ "Let Us Be Their Followers", Dominican Nuns, Menlo Park, California

External links

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