Ferdinandus Hubertus Hamer C.I.C.M. (born 21 August 1840 in

Nijmegen Nijmegen (;; Spanish and it, Nimega. Nijmeegs: ''Nimwèège'' ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and tenth largest of the Netherlands as a whole, located on the Waal river close to the German border. It is about 6 ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, died 23 July 1900 in To Tsjeng,

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

) was a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

missionary to China and

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

who was killed in the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...

in China.

Biography

Father Ferdinand Hamer was one of the first group of five missionary priests and brother from the congregation of

Congregatio Immaculati Cordis Mariae The CICM Missionaries officially named as the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary ( la, Congregatio Immaculati Cordis Mariae) abbreviated C.I.C.M, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men established in ...

who went to

in China from

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

in 1865. His three colleagues, among them the congregation's leader, Father

Theophiel Verbist Theophile Verbist, CICM (12 June 1823 – 23 February 1868) was a Belgian Catholic priest who founded the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, a missionary religious congregation of men. He led missionary activities in China. Early life ...

, died quickly, and then Father Hamer was left to return alone, although he had some lay workers to help him. Later, he became better with the language and the missionary work. In 1878, he was the first bishop to have responsibility for the apostolic vicariate of

Gansu Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...

. In 1889 he was sent by the Pope to the apostolic vicariate of Southwest-Mongolia. Although he had problems again with language, the Chinese noted his extraordinary helpfulness and devotion. In 1899, he was caught up in the anti-Christian

. In July and August 1900 the Boxers reached the area where Bishop Hamer was working. The Boxers took him to jail on 19 July, and four days later they subjected him to beatings, mockery, questioning, and torture. His nose, fingers and ears were cut off and all of his hair pulled out. That same day, 23 July, he was killed; three sticks were put together into a tripod, and an iron hook was placed at the top. The bishop was stripped and wrapped in a cotton cloth, and dunked in oil. He was then hanged by his feet from the hook with his head hanging down. The cloth was then set on fire. A loud scream was heard, and he died.

References

Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland – Biography
*Harry Knipschild: ''Soldaten van God; Nederlandse en Belgische priesters op missie in China in de negentiende eeuw'', uitgeverij Bert Bakker, 2007, paperback, 312 p. *Harry Knipschild: ''Ferdinand Hamer, 1840–1900, Missiepionier en martelaar in China'',

Universiteit Leiden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city of Le ...

, 2005 1840 births 1900 deaths People from Nijmegen People of the Boxer Rebellion Dutch Roman Catholic missionaries Roman Catholic missionaries in China 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in China Dutch sinologists Dutch people murdered abroad People murdered in China Dutch people who died in prison custody Prisoners who died in Chinese detention Dutch expatriates in China Missionary linguists {{Netherlands-reli-bio-stub

Biography

See also

References