Gregory Mary Grassi,
O.F.M., (in
Italian language
Italian (''italiano'' or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. Together with Sardinian, Italian is the least divergent language from Latin. Spoken by about ...
Gregorio Maria Grassi) (13 December 1833 – 9 July 1900) was an
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
Franciscan
, image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans
, abbreviation = OFM
, predecessor =
, ...
friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ...
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 c ...
who is honored as 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 ...
martyr
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...
and
saint.
He is one of the
120 Martyrs of China who were canonized on 1 October 2000 by
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
.
Early life and mission
He was born Pier Luigi Grassi in
Castellazzo Bormida
Castellazzo Bormida (Ël Castlass in Piedmontese, and Castlass an Burmia or Castlas an Burmia locally) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southw ...
, in the
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
region of
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, on 13 December 1833.
At the age of 15, on 2 November 1848, he took the Franciscan
habit
A habit (or wont as a humorous and formal term) is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously. in the
Friary of
Montiano
Montiano ( rgn, Muncin) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Forlì-Cesena in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about southeast of Bologna and about southeast of Forlì. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,573 ...
,
Romagna, with the name Gregory. His solemn
profession
A profession is a field of work that has been successfully ''professionalized''. It can be defined as a disciplined group of individuals, '' professionals'', who adhere to ethical standards and who hold themselves out as, and are accepted by ...
was made one year later, on 14 December. He was then sent to
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...
to do his
seminary
A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...
studies, and was
ordained
Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...
priest on 17 August 1856 in
Mirandola
Mirandola ( Mirandolese: ) is a city and ''comune'' of Emilia-Romagna, Italy, in the Province of Modena, northeast of the provincial capital by railway.
History
Mirandola originated as a Renaissance city-fortress. For four centuries it was ...
.
Then he was sent to
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
for further training to prepare for his mission to
China.
In 1860 Grassi was assigned to
Taiyuan, China, where he was appointed Mission Promoter, Director of the mission orphanage, and
choirmaster
A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...
at the seminary there.
On 25 January 1876, he was chosen as the
Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic for the
Apostolic Vicariate of Shansi. On 17 June 1891, he assumed authority over the
Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Shanxi. On 6 September 1891, he established a
novitiate to provide access to Franciscan life for the Chinese of all four vicariates in
Shanxi and a rest home for overworked missionaries.
He also dealt with the suffering of the local population brought on by
plague
Plague or The Plague may refer to:
Agriculture, fauna, and medicine
*Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis''
* An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural)
* A pandemic caused by such a disease
* A swarm of pe ...
and
famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompani ...
, which led him to enlarge the orphanage in the city and establish several others, in order to cope with the orphans left behind by these catastrophes.
Martyrdom
![Franciscan Martyrs of Shanxi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Franciscan_Martyrs_of_Shanxi.jpg)
When the short but bloody
Boxer Rebellion broke out in
Peking
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
in June 1900 and the
Empress Dowager Cixi
Empress Dowager Cixi ( ; mnc, Tsysi taiheo; formerly romanised as Empress Dowager T'zu-hsi; 29 November 1835 – 15 November 1908), of the Manchu Yehe Nara clan, was a Chinese noblewoman, concubine and later regent who effectively controlled ...
issued the
Imperial Decree of declaration of war against foreign powers
The Imperial Decree of declaration of war against foreign powers () was a simultaneous declaration of war by the Qing dynasty in 1900 against eleven foreign powers which held varying degrees of influence in China: Russia, the United States, the ...
, Grassi was urged to flee. He responded, "Ever since I was twelve, I have desired and also asked God for martyrdom. Now that this longed-for hour has come, must I run away?"
At the beginning of July, the Provincial Governor of Shanxi,
Yuxian, ordered the arrest of the European missionaries in the province. On 4 July a mob attacked the Franciscan mission in
Hengyang
Hengyang (; ) is the second largest city of Hunan Province, China. It straddles the Xiang River about south of the provincial capital of Changsha. As of the 2020 Chinese census, Its total population was 6,645,243 inhabitants, whom 1,290,715 l ...
(southern
Hunan
Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi ...
), murdering one of the friars,
Cesidio Giacomantonio, and burning the mission to the ground. A few days later, on 7 July, the friar who served as
Apostolic Vicar of Southern Hunan, bishop
Antonio Fantosati
Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular mal ...
, and his companion, the friar Giuseppe Maria Gambario, were attacked while returning to the mission in Hengyang. Both were killed.
On 27 June 1900, Grassi described the situation of Christians in the Shanxi province in a letter, saying, "The European establishments... are seriously threatened by the mob, united with the Boxers and the soldiers: a catastrophe could occur at any moment. The gates of the city are open, but they are guarded by the Boxers, who prevent the travel of Christians. Now, in the outskirts, we are in the throes of a real revolution: nothing and no one can be said to be safe." During the night of 5 July 1900, Grassi, along with fellow bishop
Francis Fogolla, three friars, seven
Franciscan Missionaries of Mary
, image = Mariadelapasion2.jpg
, size = 175px
, caption = Blessed Mary of the Passion foundress of the congregation
, abbreviation = F.M.M
, motto =
, formation =
, founder = Hélène de Chappotin(Sister ...
, 11 Chinese members of the
Third Order of St. Francis, of whom six were
seminarian
A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...
s, and three employees of the Taiyuan Mission were imprisoned by Boxer forces.
On 9 July 1900, Grassi, along with the rest, was escorted from prison with his hands bound behind his back to public trial presided by Yuxian. After a false trial, the group was sentenced to death. Grassi was stripped naked before a crowd of onlookers and Yuxian himself cut Grassi to pieces with a sword. His heart was removed from his body and delivered to Chinese Buddhist monks so that they could study its alleged occult powers. By custom, Grassi's head was severed from his corpse so that it could be put on display in a small cage at the city entrance. What remained of his corpse, along with the corpses of all the others killed that day, was tossed over the city wall and left unburied so that dogs would eat the remains.
These killings are known as the
Taiyuan massacre.
Throughout China during the Boxer Uprising, 5 bishops, 50 priests, 2 brothers, 15 sisters and 40,000 Chinese Christians were killed.
The 146,575 Catholics served by the Franciscans in China in 1906 had grown to 303,760 by 1924 and were served by 282 Franciscans and 174 local priests.
See also
Martyr Saints of China
The Martyr Saints of China ( zh, t=中華殉道聖人, s=中华殉道圣人, first=t, p=Zhōnghuá xùndào shèngrén), or Augustine Zhao Rong and his Companions, are 120 saints of the Catholic Church. The 87 Chinese Catholics and 33 Western ...
Notes
References and further reading
*
External links
St. Gregory Grassi and Companions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grassi, Gregorio Maria
Italian Roman Catholic saints
1833 births
1900 deaths
Roman Catholic missionaries in China
19th-century Christian saints
Italian Friars Minor
Franciscan martyrs
Franciscan saints
People from Castellazzo Bormida
Executed Italian people
Beatifications by Pope Pius XII
Christian martyrs executed by decapitation
People executed by the Qing dynasty by decapitation