Mei Zhanchun

Last updated

Fr. Pascal Angelicus Melotto, OFM
Missionary Priest
Church Roman Catholic Church
Orders
RankCatholic Priest
Personal details
Born1864
Died1923(1923-00-00) (aged 58–59)
Hankou China
BuriedMei Pavilion
Nationality Italian

Father Pascal Angelicus Melotto, OFM, popularly known as Father Mei Zhanchun was a Roman Catholic priest of the Franciscan Order, Father Mei Memorial Catholic Hospital in Hankou, China was erected in his memory. He is one of the earliest Martyrs in China. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Early life and priesthood

Father Mei was born in Lonigo, Italy in year 1864. He joined the Franciscan order in the year 1880. [2] [1] [3]

Persecution and death in China

Mei arrived in China in 1902 and adopted the Chinese name Father Mei Zhanchun.

He was kidnapped in 1923 and a large ransom was demanded. He was moved many times between Hubei and Henan provinces while in custody and died after three months because one of the kidnappers shot him in the stomach with a poisoned bullet. Shortly before dying, he said that, “I am happy to die for the Chinese. I lived in China for the Chinese and now I am happy to die for them.

His remains were transferred to a memorial structure called the Mei Pavilion. [4] [1] [2] [3]

Erection of Memorial

After the involvement of the Italian government and Vatican, a hospital by the name Father Mei Memorial Catholic hospital was erected as his memorial in Hankou. [3] [2] [1]

Demolition of Memorial

In 1952, all the missionaries were expelled from China and the hospital was renamed from Father Mei Memorial Catholic Hospital to Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital. In 2008, hospital was destroyed and moved to another location. [1] [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mychal Judge</span> 20th-century American Catholic priest and 9-11 victim

Mychal Fallon Judge, was an American Franciscan friar and Catholic priest who served as a chaplain to the New York City Fire Department. While serving in that capacity he was killed, becoming the first certified fatality of the September 11 attacks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maximilian Kolbe</span> Polish Franciscan friar, martyr, and saint (1894–1941)

Maximilian Maria Kolbe was a Polish Catholic priest and Conventual Franciscan friar who volunteered to die in place of a man named Franciszek Gajowniczek in the German death camp of Auschwitz, located in German-occupied Poland during World War II. He had been active in promoting the veneration of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, founding and supervising the monastery of Niepokalanów near Warsaw, operating an amateur-radio station (SP3RN), and founding or running several other organizations and publications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wuhan</span> Prefecture-level & sub-provincial city in Hubei, China

Wuhan is the capital of Hubei Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the ninth-most populous Chinese city and one of the nine National Central Cities of China. The city is most notable for being the location where SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 and caused the COVID-19 pandemic was first detected.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lorenzo Ruiz</span> Filipino saint

Lorenzo Ruiz, also called Saint Lorenzo of Manila, is a Filipino saint venerated in the Catholic Church. A Chinese-Filipino, he became his country's protomartyr after his execution in Japan by the Tokugawa Shogunate during its persecution of Japanese Christians in the 17th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camillus de Lellis</span> Italian Roman Catholic saint

Camillus de Lellis, M.I., was a Roman Catholic priest from Italy who founded the Camillians, a religious order dedicated to the care of the sick. He was beatified by Pope Benedict XIV in the year 1742, and canonized by him four years later in 1746. De Lellis is the patron saint of the sick, hospitals, nurses and physicians. His assistance is also invoked against gambling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hankou</span> Former town, now part of Wuhan

Hankou, alternately romanized as Hankow, was one of the three towns merged to become modern-day Wuhan city, the capital of the Hubei province, China. It stands north of the Han and Yangtze Rivers where the Han flows into the Yangtze. Hankou is connected by bridges to its triplet sister towns Hanyang and Wuchang.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus</span> Latin Catholic ecclesiastical jurisdiction in Ohio, USA

The Diocese of Columbus is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church covering 23 counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The episcopal see of the diocese is situated at Columbus. The diocese was erected on March 3, 1868, by Pope Pius IX out of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. The Diocese of Columbus is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Cincinnati.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Titus Brandsma</span> 20th-century Dutch Carmelite friar, priest, and professor

Titus Brandsma, OCarm was a Dutch Carmelite friar, Catholic priest and professor of philosophy. Brandsma was vehemently opposed to Nazi ideology and spoke out against it many times before the Second World War. He was imprisoned at the Dachau concentration camp, where he was murdered. He was beatified by the Catholic Church in November 1985 a martyr of the faith and canonized as a saint on 15 May 2022 by Pope Francis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Griffith John</span> Welsh Christian missionary (1831-1912)

Griffith John was a Welsh Christian missionary and translator in China. A member of the Congregational church, he was a pioneer evangelist with the London Missionary Society (LMS), a writer and a translator of the Holy Bible into the Chinese language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martyr Saints of China</span> Catholic martyrs from several centuries canonized by John Paul II in 2000

The Martyr Saints of China, or Augustine Zhao Rong and his Companions, are 120 saints of the Catholic Church. The 87 Chinese Catholics and 33 Western missionaries from the mid-17th century to 1930 were martyred because of their ministry and, in some cases, for their refusal to apostatize.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate</span>

The Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate is a religious institute founded in 1970 by Conventual Franciscans Stefano Maria Manelli and Gabriel Maria Pellettieri and canonically erected by Pope John Paul II in 1998. Their rule of life is the Regula Bullata of Saint Francis of Assisi according to the Traccia Mariana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hankou</span> Roman Catholic archdiocese in China

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hankou is a Latin Rite Metropolitan archdiocese, based in Hankou, Wuhan, Hubei, China.

Thomas of Tolentino was a medieval Franciscan missionary who was martyred with his three companions in Thane, India, for "blaspheming" Muhammad. His relics were removed to Quanzhou, China, and Tolentino, Italy, by Odoric of Pordenone. He is now venerated as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church, with his feast day on April 9.

The Central Hospital of Wuhan is a tertiary hospital located in Jiang'an District in Wuhan, Hubei, China. It was established in 1880 as a clinic under Hankou's Catholic church. In 1893, it was later expanded and renamed as Catholic Hospital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chen Qiushi</span> Chinese lawyer and citizen journalist (born 1985)

Chen Qiushi, also known as Steven Chen, is a Chinese lawyer, activist, and citizen journalist who covered the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests and the COVID-19 pandemic which included criticism of the government response. He went missing on 6 February 2020 after reporting on the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan. The Chinese government reportedly informed Chen's family and friends that he has been detained for the purpose of COVID-19 quarantine. Critics, including media freedom groups, have expressed skepticism about government motives, and have unsuccessfully called on the government to allow outside contact with Chen.

Bishop Eustachio Vito Modesto Zanoli, O.F.M, was an Italian missionary of the Order of Friar Minor. Roman Catholic Apostolic Vicars of Eastern Hupeh, now Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hankou. He was founder of the Catholic hospital in Wuhan, now Central Hospital of Wuhan.

Saint Marie-Hermine of Jesus was a French nun and Mother Superior who died for her faith in China during the Boxer Rebellion and was canonised in 2000. She and six other nuns had gone to China to create a small hospital and to staff an orphanage. She is one of the group known as the Martyr Saints of China who were canonised by Pope John Paul II 1 October 2000.

Saint Maria Chiara Nanetti or Mary Clare was an Italian religious sister who died for her faith in China during the Boxer Rebellion 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 1 October 2000.

Saint Marie de la Paix Giuliani was an Italian religious sister who died for her faith in China during the Boxer Rebellion 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 1 October 2000.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Wuhan — Franciscans were present there over 100 years ago". Ordo Fratrum Minorum. 2020-02-20. Retrieved 2020-12-25.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Chinese hospital treating coronavirus has a unique Catholic history". Aleteia — Catholic Spirituality, Lifestyle, World News, and Culture. 2020-02-21. Retrieved 2020-12-25.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Telegraph, The Catholic. "China's first saint was martyred on a cross in Wuhan". Catholic Telegraph. Retrieved 2020-12-25.
  4. "China's first saint was martyred on a cross in Wuhan". Detroit Catholic. Retrieved 2020-12-25.