87 CHINESE MARTYRS AMONG THOSE TO BE CANONIZED OCTOBER 1

VATICAN CITY, SEP 22, 2000 (VIS) - Holy See Press Office Director Joaquin Navarro-Valls held a press briefing this morning on the October 1 canonization ceremony in St. Peter's Square during which, for the first time, 87 Chinese martyrs will be raised to the honors of the altars. A total of 120 martyrs will be canonized, including 33 non-Chinese missionaries.

The director recalled that "the Chinese people, right from the last half of the third century B.C., had developed a religiosity whose principal characteristics were the recognition and worship of a Supreme Being and filial and devoted piety towards their deceased ancestors."

He added that "the Gospel was preached for the first time in China in the fifth century. At the start of the seventh century the first church was erected. But it was above all the following centuries which saw an important development of Catholic missions in China and many Chinese asked to be instructed in the Catholic religion and to be able to receive baptism.

"While Chinese Catholics, for the most part of the Church's history in China, were able to live in peace," Navarro-Valls pointed out, "in other times and for various reason they were persecuted and a number of them martyred. The 120 martyrs who will be canonized on Sunday, October 1, belong to a multitude of thousands of Catholics who, over the past three and a half centuries, have undergone the same fate. It is enough to remember that in the complex historical period of the Boxers alone, more than 30,000 Chinese Catholics were killed."

He added that these canonizations are the culmination of a long process, recalling that "the first causes began in 1893 and the last two in 1983. ...The 120 martyrs of this canonization cover a period of time which goes from 1648 to 1930."

Since 1943, fifty-seven letters of postulation and petitions have been sent to the Pope for the canonization of the protomartyr of China, Blessed Francisco Fernandez de Capillas, a Dominican who died in 1648. The letters have come from episcopal conferences, bishops and religious conferences in Spain, Portugal, Philippines, China and Taiwan.

Navarro-Valls stressed that "strictly religious parameters must be applied for a correct interpretation of this canonization.

"In the first place, this canonization expresses the great evangelizing vigor of the local Churches from which the missionaries come, as well as the vigorous adhesion of the Chinese." He affirmed that of the 120 martyrs, 87 are Chinese, among them 83 lay men and women. "The 33 non-Chinese missionaries come from Spain, France, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands. Six of them are bishops, there are also 19 diocesan or religious priests, one religious and seven nuns."

The director of the Holy See Press Office went on: "In the second place, this canonization - of such grand dimensions - is an explicit example of the catholicity of the Church: martyrdom has unified Chinese and foreign Christians, laity, priests, religious and bishops, men and women, people of all ages including children, and of different social classes."

"At the same time," he added, "Chinese faithful are, for the first time, raised to the glory of the altars and presented to Christians of the whole world as an example of human coherence and of faith. In the Church's view, martyrdom expresses the supreme synthesis of humanity and sanctity. For this reason, the upcoming canonizations are considered a great honor both for the Church and for the Chinese people."

Navarro-Valls concluded by saying that October 1, feast of St. Therese of Lisieux, patron saint of missions, had been chosen for the canonization because among the martyrs was a group of missionaries.

At the close of the briefing, Navarro-Valls said in response to a question that, at the present moment, more than 1,500 faithful from Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Chinese diaspora had confirmed they would be present for the canonization.

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