William of Rubruck William of Rubruck ( nl, Willem van Rubroeck, la, Gulielmus de Rubruquis; ) was a Flemish Franciscan missionary and explorer. He is best known for his travels to various parts of the Middle East and Central Asia in the 13th century, including the ...

(1253) *

Giovanni di Monte Corvino John of Montecorvino or Giovanni da Montecorvino in Italian (1247 – 1328) was an Italian Franciscan missionary, traveller and statesman, founder of the earliest Latin Catholic missions in India and China, and archbishop of Peking. He convert ...

O.F.M. (1294) *

Arnold of Cologne Arnold may refer to: People * Arnold (given name), a masculine given name * Arnold (surname), a German and English surname Places Australia * Arnold, Victoria, a small town in the Australian state of Victoria Canada * Arnold, Nova Scotia Uni ...

(1303) *

Andrew of Perugia Andrew of Perugia ( la, Andreas Perusinus; died ) was a Franciscan friar and Bishop born in Perugia, Italy, and active in China in the 14th century. He was Bishop of Quanzhou (ancient Zaiton) in Fujian from 1322. He was initially sent to China in ...

(1307) *

Odoric of Pordenone Odoric of Pordenone, OFM (1286–1331), also known as Odorico Mattiussi/Mattiuzzi, Odoricus of Friuli or Orderic of Pordenone, was an Italian late-medieval Franciscan friar and missionary explorer. He traveled through India, the Greater Sunda Is ...

O.F.M. (1322) * St. Francis Xavier S.J. (1552) *

Michele Ruggieri Michele or Michael Ruggieri (1543– 11 May 1607), born Pompilio Ruggieri and known in China as Luo Mingjian, was an Italian Jesuit priest and missionary. A founding father of the Jesuit China missions, co-author of the first European–Chinese di ...

S.J. (1579) *

Matteo Ricci Matteo Ricci, SJ (; la, Mattheus Riccius; 6 October 1552 – 11 May 1610), was an Italians, Italian Society of Jesus, Jesuit Priesthood in the Catholic Church, priest and one of the founding figures of the Jesuit China missions. He create ...

S.J. (1582) *

Alessandro Valignano Alessandro Valignano, S.J., sometimes Valignani (Chinese: 范禮安 ''Fàn Lǐ’ān''; February 1539 – January 20, 1606), was an Italian Jesuit priest and missionary born in Chieti, part of the Kingdom of Naples, who helped supervise the i ...

S.J. (1570s–1580s) *

Andrius Rudamina Andrius Rudamina, S.J. ( la, Andreas Rudamina; pl, Andrzej Rudomina; 1596 – 5 September 1631) was the first Lithuanian Jesuit missionary in China. Early life Andrius Rudamina was born into an old and distinguished Lithuanian noble family in ...

S.J. (1620-1630s) - Lithuanian Jesuit missionary *

Johann Adam Schall von Bell Johann Adam Schall von Bell (1 May 1591 – 15 August 1666) was a German Jesuit, astronomer and instrument-maker. He spent most of his life as a missionary in China (where he is remembered as "Tang Ruowang") and became an adviser to the Shunz ...

S.J. (1592–1666) - German Jesuit missionary and astronomer * Wenceslas Pantaleon Kirwitzer S.J. (1618–1620) *

Alexandre de Rhodes Alexandre de Rhodes (15 March 1593 – 5 November 1660) was an Avignonese Jesuit missionary and lexicographer who had a lasting impact on Christianity in Vietnam. He wrote the '' Dictionarium Annamiticum Lusitanum et Latinum'', the first triling ...

S.J. (1630) *

Francis Ferdinand de Capillas 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 th ...

O.P. (1642–48) *

Martino Martini Martino Martini () (20 September 1614 – 6 June 1661), born and raised in Trento (Prince-Bishopric of the Holy Roman Empire), was a Jesuit missionary. As cartographer and historian, he mainly worked on ancient Imperial China. Early years Mart ...

S.J. (1640–1661) * Thomas Pereira S.J. (1645–1708) *

Ferdinand Verbiest Father Ferdinand Verbiest (9 October 1623 – 28 January 1688) was a Flemish Jesuit missionary in China during the Qing dynasty. He was born in Pittem near Tielt in the County of Flanders (now part of Belgium). He is known as Nan Huairen () in Chi ...

S.J. (1659) *

Caspar Castner The Reverend Caspar Castner (7 October 1655– 9 November 1709) was a Jesuit Jesuit China missions, missionary to the Qing Empire. Life Caspar Castner was born in Munich, Bavaria, on 7 October 1655. He entered the Society of Jesus ("Jesuits") ...

S.J. (1696–1709) * Giuseppe Castiglione S.J. (1715) *

Matteo Ripa Matteo is the Italian form of the given name Matthew. Another form is Mattia. The Hebrew meaning of Matteo is "gift of god". Matteo can also be used as a patronymic surname, often in the forms of de Matteo, De Matteo or DeMatteo, meaning " escen ...

(16??–17??) *

Jean Joseph Marie Amiot Jean Joseph Marie Amiot (sometimes Amyot; ; February 1718October 9, 1793) was a French Jesuit missionary in Qing China, during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor. Life Joseph Marie Amiot was born at Toulon. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1 ...

S.J. (1750) *

Michel Benoist Michel Benoist (, 8 October 1715 in Dijon, France – 23 October 1774 in Beijing, China) was a Jesuit scientist who served for thirty years in the court of the Qianlong Emperor (1735 - 1796) during the Qing Dynasty, known for his architectur ...

S.J. (1774–1775) *

Pierre-Marie-Alphonse Favier Pierre-Marie-Alphonse Favier-Duperron C.M.(Chinese: 樊國樑 Pinyin:''Fan Guoliang'' Wade-Giles: ''Fan Kouo-Léang'') (born 22 September 1837 at Marsannay-la-Côte, France; died 4 April 1905 in Beijing) was the Roman Catholic, Catholic (Chines ...

C.M. (served 1862–1905) *

Johann Baptist von Anzer Johann Baptist Anzer (later von Anzer, ), S.V.D., (16 May 1851 – 24 November 1903) was a member of the Society of the Divine Word, popularly known as the Divine Word Missionaries, and Catholic bishop of the German Mission to China in Shand ...

S.V.D. (1851–1903) *

Armand David Father Armand David (7 September 1826, Espelette – 10 November 1900, Paris) was a Lazarist missionary Catholic priest as well as a zoologist and a botanist. Several species, such as Père David's deer, are named after him — be ...

C.M. (1862–1863) *

Augustin Henninghaus Augustin Henninghaus SVD (11 September 1862, Menden (Sauerland), Province of Westphalia – 20 July 1939) was a German Roman Catholic missionary and bishop in China. Life Henninghaus, whose baptismal name was August, was born in Menden ...

S.V.D (1862–1939) * Theophiel Verbist C.I.C.M. (1865) *

Ephrem Giesen Ephrem Giesen (1868–1919; Chinese name: 申永福 Shen Yongfu) was a missionary priest of the Dutch Franciscan order of the Roman Catholic church who served in northern Shandong province and as a member of the Dutch Fransciscan mission of south ...

, Franciscan (1868-1919) * Amandina of Schakkebroek (1889) *

Venerable The Venerable (''venerabilis'' in Latin) is a style, a title, or an epithet which is used in some Western Christian churches, or it is a translation of similar terms for clerics in Eastern Orthodoxy and monastics in Buddhism. Christianity Cathol ...

Gabriele Allegra Gabriele Allegra ( zh, 雷永明, 26 December 1907 – 26 January 1976) was a Franciscan Friar and Biblical scholar. He is best known for accomplishing the first complete translation of the Catholic Bible into the Chinese language. His Studium B ...

O.F.M. (1931) * Prosper Bernard S.J. (1938)

See also