Saint Marie-Adolphine Dierkx (1866–1900, born Anna Catharina or Kaatje Dierkx) was a Dutch nun who died for her faith in China during 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 ...

and was canonised in 2000. She is one of the group known as the Martyr Saints of China who were canonised by Pope John Paul II on 1 October 2000. Her birthplace has been converted into a chapel.

Life

She was born Anna Catharina Dierkx on 8 March 1866 in Ossendrecht, North Brabant, Netherlands. She was one of six children in a poor family, and her mother died while she was young. She worked in a chicory-processing factory and in domestic service before joining the

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 ...

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

in 1893 and taking the name Marie-Adolphine. In 1899 she was one of seven sisters from the Franciscan order to go to China to help at an orphanage. The orphanage soon cared for 200 children, and Marie-Adolphine was placed in charge of the laundry. On 9 July 1900 the nuns were murdered as part of the Taiyuan massacre. Marie-Adolphine was beatified by

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

on 24 November 1946. She was canonised joyfully by Pope John Paul II on 1 October 2000. There are two statues of Marie-Adolphine in St Gertrude's church Ossendrecht, one in stone and one in wood. The house where she was born has been converted into a chapel, the Adolphinekapel, to which pilgrimages are made. The converted chapel was first opened in 1954 and in 1966 the neighbouring building was purchased and demolished so that the Adolphineplein could be extended. In 1983 the first chapel was replaced by a new chapel. The new chapel still hinted that it had been converted from her birthplace. It was opened by the Bishop of Breda

Hubertus Ernst Hubertus Cornelis Antonius Ernst (8 April 1917 – 19 May 2017) was a Dutch prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. A centenarian, he was the oldest Dutch Roman Catholic bishop at the time of his death in 2017. Life Ernst had his seminary years ...

on 29 May 1983.

Names

Her names appear in sources in many versions. Some of this appears to be confusion caused when her name was registered. Her religious name appears as Maria, Marie or Mary, with or without a hyphen, Adolphine or Adolfine; her birth surname is spelled Dierkx, Diercks, Dierks, Dirks; she was Anne or Anna, Catharina or Catherine, known as Kaatje, or Judoca (her mother's name). Her father further complicated the records when he registered her as dead when she was three, but it was her sister who had died, and the records remained in error.

References

External links

Zr Marie Adolphine foundation website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marie Adolphine 1866 births 1900 deaths Dutch Roman Catholic saints Christian female saints of the Late Modern era Canonizations by Pope John Paul II People from Woensdrecht 19th-century Dutch Roman Catholic nuns Franciscan Missionaries of Mary 19th-century Roman Catholic martyrs People of the Boxer Rebellion 19th-century Christian saints