Mount
Fanjing, in Jiangkou County, Guizhou, China.
梵净山坐落在贵州省铜仁市江口县。
Sainte Agathe Lin
Zhao, vierge et martyre
Avec Jérôme Lu Tingmei et
Laurent Wang Bing, catéchistes comme elle dans la province du Guizhou, en
Chine, cette institutrice fut décapitée pour la foi à Maokou le 28 janvier
1858, lors de la persécution déclenchée sous l’empereur Wenzongxian.
Sainte Agathe Lin
et ses compagnons, Jérôme
Lou et Laurent Ouang, martyrs (+ 1858)
Institutrice chinoise,
elle fut décapitée pour la foi à Mao-keou le 28 janvier avec Jérôme Lou-Tin-Mey
et Laurent Ouang-Ping, qui étaient des catéchistes.
À Maokou, dans la province
chinoise de Guizhou, en 1858, les saints martyrs Agathe Lin Zhao, vierge,
Jérôme Lu Tingmei et Laurent Wang Bing. Catéchistes, ils furent dénoncés comme
chrétiens sous l’empereur Wenzongxian et enfin décapités.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/518/Sainte-Agathe-Lin.html
Also
known as
Agata Lin Zhao
Agatha Lin Tchaio
Lin Zhao Agatha
Jiade
formerly 18 February
28 September as
one of the Martyrs of
China
Profile
Lay woman. Teacher in
a Christian school. Catechist.
One of the Martyrs of
China.
Born
c.1817 at
Qinglong, Guizhou, China
beheaded 28 January 1858 at
Mao-ken, Langdai, Guizhou, China
2 May 1909 by Pope Saint Pius X
1 October 2000 by Pope John
Paul II
Additional
Information
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
other
sites in english
images
sitios
en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
fonti
in italiano
Martirologio Romano, 2005 edition
MLA
Citation
“Saint Agatha Lin“. CatholicSaints.Info.
8 May 2022. Web. 8 April 2023.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-agatha-lin/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-agatha-lin/
Saint of the Week – Lin
Zhao Agatha
This weeks saint is Agatha Lin (or Lin Zhao Agatha).
For this weeks saint
we’re going to a side of our Christian family that I don’t think we hear about
often. The Church in China has always met with a lot of resistance and
suspicion, even to this day. So, I think it’s good to get a glimpse at to
the work of some of our often forgotten Christian brothers and sisters.
Today I wanted to focus
on Saint Agatha Lin who is remembered by Christians around the world on January
28th.
Agatha was born into a
Catholic family in 1817. She was very familiar with the difficulty of
being a Christian in China as her father was twice arrested and tortured for
being a Christian. She would eventually become a school teacher but was
also imprisoned for her faith in 1857. Not only was she asked to renounce
her Christianity but she was also mocked for her virginity. When she
refused to give up her faith and also voiced support for other imprisoned
Christians, she was beheaded on January 28, 1858.
I pray that Agatha Lin
would inspire us to remember the history of Christians all over the
world. I pray that we would remember the work of the everyday believers,
especially the women in our lives. I pray that Agatha Lin’s sacrifice
would inspire us to greater faith and to stand up for our voiceless and
imprisoned brothers and sisters.
More Information:
Martyrs of China – PDF
Catholic Online – Saint Agatha
Lin
SOURCE : https://fascinatingmystery.wordpress.com/2014/01/31/saint-of-the-week-lin-zhao-agatha/
Feast
of Sts. Agnes Tsao Kou Ying, Agatha Lin Zhao, Lucy Yi Zhenmei, Auguste
Chapdelaine, and Laurentius Bai Xiaoman (February 19) 2
comments
SAINT AGNES TSAO KOU YING
(CIRCA 1821-MARCH 1, 1856)
Chinese Roman Catholic
Catechist and Martyr, 1856
Roman Catholic feast day
(solo) = March 1
Roman Catholic feast day
(as one of the Martyrs of China) = September 28
SAINT AGATHA LIN ZHAO
(CIRCA 1817-JANUARY 28, 1858)
Chinese Roman Catholic
Catechist and Martyr, 1858
Roman Catholic feast day
(solo) = January 28
Former Roman Catholic
feast day (solo) = February 18
Roman Catholic feast day
(as one of the Martyrs of China) = September 28
SAINT LUCY YI ZHENMEI
(JANUARY 17, 1815-FEBRUARY 19, 1862)
Chinese Roman Catholic
Catechist and Martyr, 1862
Roman Catholic feast day
(solo) = February 19
Roman Catholic feast day
(as one of the Martyrs of China) = September 28
SAINT AUGUSTE CHAPDELAINE
(JANUARY 6, 1814-FEBRUARY 29, 1856)
French Roman Catholic
Priest, Missionary, and Martyr, 1856
Roman Catholic feast days
(solo) = February 28 and 29
Roman Catholic feast day
(as one of the Martyrs of China) = September 28
SAINT LAURENTIUS BAI
XIAOMAN (CIRCA 1821-FEBRUARY 25, 1856)
Chinese Roman Catholic
Convert and Martyr, 1856
Also known as Saint
Lawrence Po-Men
Roman Catholic feast day
(solo) = February 25
Roman Catholic feast day
(as one of the Martyrs of China) = September 28
Roman Catholic feast day
(as one of the Martyrs of Cochin) = November 24
INTRODUCTION
These five saints come to
this, A Great Cloud of Witnesses: An Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’
Days and Holy Days, via two sources. All of the five saints are official,
according to the Roman Catholic Church. All of them, as Martyrs of China,
share the Roman Catholic feast day of September 28. Sts. Agnes Tsao Kou
Ying, Agatha Lin Zhao, and Lucy Yi Zhenmei share the feast day of February 19
in The Episcopal Church, as of the approval of Lesser Feasts and Fasts
2018 at the General Convention of 2018. Sts. Auguste Chapdelaine and
Laurentius Bai Xiaoman join the three women in this post because their stories
overlap with that of St. Agnes Tsao Kou Ying.
I, as an
anti-imperialist, affirm that anti-imperialism does not justify religious
persecution.
Western imperialism in
China led to abuses, including the British Empire selling opium and various
powers exercising extra-territoriality. Chinese anti-imperialism,
although justified, led to violent excesses, notably the Boxer Rebellion
(1899-1901). Chinese anti-imperialism also led to occasional persecutions
of Christians over time. Our five saints died because of this policy.
SAINTS AUGUSTE
CHAPDELAINE, LAURENTIUS BAI XIAOMAN, AND AGNES TSAO KOU YING
St. Auguste Chapdelaine,
despite experiencing obstacles, eventually fulfilled his vocation as a priest
and a missionary. He, born in La Rochelle-Normande, France, on January 6,
1814, was a son of Nicolas Chapdelaine and Madeleine Dodeman. Our saint
dropped out of grammar school to work on the family farm. He eventually
discerned his vocation to the priesthood, but his family objected until after
two of his brothers died suddenly. Finally, on October 1, 1834,
Chapdelaine, aged 20 years, matriculated at the minor seminary, Mortain.
He, being twice as old as many of his classmates, became “Papa
Chapdelaine.” Chapdelaine, ordained to the priesthood on June 10, 1843,
worked as an associate parish priest in 1844-1851. Our saint, having
discerned his vocation to be a missionary, applied to join French Foreign
Missions, which accepted him, although he was, technically, two years too old
to join.
Chapdelaine completed his
days as a missionary in China. He, having left France on April 30, 1852,
arrived in Singapore on September 5. When the time to depart for his
mission station in China came, our saint was ready. Robbery delayed him
en route to the mission station in Kwang Si province, though. Our saint
finally arrived in 1854. Ten days later, authorities arrested him and
incarcerated him for three weeks. Chapdelaine, released, spent the next
two years or so well; he converted hundreds of people.
St. Laurentius Bai
Xiaoman, born Loulong, was one of those converts. He, born in Shuicheng,
Guizhou, circa 1821, came from a poor family. Loulong, orphaned as a boy,
worked as a day laborer in Guangxi then in the village of Yaoshan. He
married in his early thirties and had a daughter. Chapdelaine converted
Loulong circa 1855.
Chapdelaine also
met St. Agnes Tsao Kou Ying. She, born in Wujiazhou circa 1821, came
from a Roman Catholic family. Her parents died during her adolescence,
prompting our saint to move to Xingyi. St. Agnes married a young farmer
when she was 18 years old. Their marriage was brief; about two years
later, she became a widow when her husband became a martyr. The widowed
saint became a catechist. Eventually Chapdelaine asked our saint to
assist him in his missionary work; she agreed. St. Agnes cared for
children, taught cooking, and catechized.
Authorities arrested
Chapdelaine and St. Agnes in late February 1856. Our saints, incarcerated
and tortured, refused to renounce their faith. So did St. Laurentius, arrested
after he protested the arrests of Chapdelaine and St. Agnes. All three
received death sentences. St. Laurentius died on February 25. Chapdelaine
became a martyr on February 29. St. Agnes received the crown of martyrdom
on March 1.
Holy Mother Church
recognized these saints formally. Pope Leo XIII declared them Venerable
in 1899 and beatified them the following year. Pope John Paul II
canonized the three saints in 2000.
SAINT AGATHA LIN ZHAO
St. Agatha Lin Zhao was
another catechist and martyr. She, born in Quinlong, Guizhou circa 1817,
grew up in a Roman Catholic family. She, an only child, discerned her
vocation to live as a single woman and operate a church-related girls’
school. Her parents reluctantly agreed to release her from plans for an
arranged marriage. St. Agatha, having earned her university degree,
returned to her hometown and opened a school for girls. Our saint,
arrested in late 1857, refused to renounce her faith. She died via
beheading on January 28, 1858.
The Church formally
recognized this saint. Pope Pius X beatified St. Agatha in 1909.
Pope John Paul II canonized her in 2000.
SAINT LUCY YI ZHENMEI
St. Lucy Yi Zhenmei was
a catechist and a martyr. When she was 20 years old and recovering from a
severe illness, St. Lucy deepened her faith. She continued to reside with
and to support her family, but she adopted a semi-monastic lifestyle. Our
saint also began to teach the catechism to children. After St. Lucy’s
priest asked Lucy to become a missionary, she initially refused. She,
citing safety concerns, moved to a convent instead. In 1862, however, our
saint and Father Wen Nair opened a mission in Jiashanlong. Almost
immediately, they became victims of a provincial persecution of Christianity.
Authorities arrested the priest and three others then, without conducting a
formal trial, sentenced them to die. The priest and the three other
condemned persons were en route to die on February 18, 1862, when St. Lucy met
them on the road and spoke up. Authorities arrested her
immediately. Before the end of the day, she had received her death
sentence. She received the crown of martyrdom on February 19.
The Roman Catholic Church
recognized St. Lucy formally. Pope Pius X declared her a Venerable in
1908 then beatified her the following year. Pope John Paul II canonized
her in 2000.
CONCLUSION
Writing about martyrs is
easy. Living as a Christian in a country with religious freedom is also
easy. Asking oneself if one would rather die or remain faithful may lead
one to examine one’s faith more closely.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
SEPTEMBER 25, 2019 COMMON
ERA
THE FEAST OF SARAH LOUISE
“SADIE” DELANY, AFRICAN-AMERICAN EDUCATOR; HER SISTER, ANNIE ELIZABETH “BESSIE”
DELANY, AFRICAN-AMERICAN DENTIST; AND THEIR BROTHER, HUBERT THOMAS DELANY,
AFRICAN-AMERICAN ATTORNEY, JUDGE, AND CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST
THE FEAST OF SAINT
EUPHROSYNE AND HER FATHER, SAINT PAPHNUTIUS OF ALEXANDRIA, MONKS
THE FEAST OF SAINT HERMAN
OF REICHENAU, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK, LITURGIST, POET, AND SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF SAINT
SERGIUS OF RADONEZH, ABBOT OF THE MONASTERY OF THE HOLY TRINITY, SERGIYEV
POSAD, RUSSIA
Lord Jesus Christ, who
willingly walked the way of the cross:
Strengthen your church
through the witness of your servants
Saint Agnes Tsao Kou
Ying,
Saint Agatha Lin Zhou,
Saint Lucy Yi Zhenmai,
Saint Auguste
Chapdelaine, and
Saint Laurentius Bai
Xiaoman,
to hold fast to the path
of discipleship even unto death;
for with the Father and
the Holy Spirit you live and reign,
one God, for ever and
ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3:13-19
Psalm 27
Matthew 25:1-13
–Adapted from Lesser
Feasts and Fasts 2018, 141
Posted September 25, 2019
by neatnik2009 in February 19, Saints
of 1820-1829, Saints
of 1830-1839, Saints
of 1840-1849, Saints
of 1850-1859, Saints
of 1860-1869
Tagged with St. Agatha Lin
Zhao, St. Agnes
Tsao Kou Ying, St.
Auguste Chapdelaine, St.
Laurentius Bai Xiaoman, St. Lawrence
Po-Men, St. Lucy Yi
Zhenmei
SOURCE : https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/tag/st-agatha-lin-zhao/
The blood of martyrs, the
seed of civilization: Reflections on St. Agata LIN Zhao's life(圣林昭)
（殉道者的血是人类文明的种子）
Fr. Dr. Peter ZHAO
Jianmin
The life of St. Agata LIN Zhao (林昭）
St. Agata LIN Zhao (圣亚加大 林昭）was born in 1817 in a
samll village called Ma Chang (马场) , located in Xingyi County (兴义县) in the Province of
Guizhou during Qing Dynasty, China. Her house were still standing in 1891 when
Mgr. Guichard passed through there. He also suggested to buy that house to
build a church. Her father LIN Guoxiang (林国相）was selling salt for the family living.
Her mother YIN Shi (尹氏),who
lived to a ripe old age, was taking care of the family life as at that time no
women could go out to work.
We do not know the exact
time when this family was baptized. However, it is sure that they were
converted by a Chinese catechist, St. Giuseppe ZHANG Dapeng(张大鹏). St. Agata Lin's father
had been tortured several times by the county's local governor because he did
not renounce his faith. When St. Agata Lin was born, her father was still in
the county prision. Three days after her birth, St. Agata Lin was baptized by
her mother, and later the family had to move to Longli County (龙里县）, south of Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou
Province, and they remained in Longli for three years.
At that time, there was a
very popular Chinese custom: proposing a marrage by pointing to the stomach (指腹为婚) or proposing a child
marrage by both parents of the children. When St. Agata Lin was a baby or very
little, following the popular Chinese custom at that time, she was engaged by
her parents to another catholic family of Liu in Ta-pa-tien(大坝田？) village. Perhaps her parents wanted her,
when she was growing up, to marry into a catholic family. Compared with the
population as a whole at that time, even today perhaps, Catholics were very
few. So this child engagement was a good idea for both family and gave them
catholic connections.
At that time, there was
another Chinese custom. Only boys, if the family rich enough, were sent to a
traditional private school (私塾)
or a home school with private tutor in a village or a town. A large number of
girls had no possibility of learning how to read or how to write unless the
family was very rich. The parents, in a rich family, could pay a home tutor to
come to their house to teach their girls. Therefore, the very ancient custom
was that girls would not be educated and therefore they would remain within
their husband's home to assist husband and bring up children (相夫教子). St Agata Lin's parents
were not very rich. However, it is evident that St Agata Lin's parents were
influenced by their Catholic faith and were so open-minded that they asked
other catholic catechists to teach their girl to study Chinese language at the
seven years age. This learning opened St Agata Lin's eyes.
Later, when St Agata Lin
was growing up, her parents informed her of her “child engagement”.
Nonetheless, she informed her parents that she did not wish to be married and
she would like to be a virgin (贞女), to serve God. Because of this, her
parents had to call off the “child engagement”.
When Fr. Matthew Liu(刘玛窦), a Franciscan priest,
came to St Agata Lin's village for the Eucharist, she revealed her intention to
the priest. Then, Fr. Liu discussed the matter with St Agata Lin's father and
asked her father to send her to Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou Province. In
the capital there were two schools, one for boys directed by a catechist, and
one for girls guided by Chinese virgins from Sichuan, whose family name was
Yuan(袁).
A few months later, a persecution began and the two virgins had to move out of
the town. Later, the first Chinese priest in Guizhou, Thomas Luo (骆文灿), whose ordination was
on 23 May 1850, asked St. Agata Lin to initiate a girls school in a small and
quiet village. This girls school was quite successful.
In 1852, Paul Yang's
family, newly converted to CatholicFaith, moved from Zhenning County （今贵州省安顺市镇宁布依族苗族自治县）to the village of Maokou
(毛口) near Langdai County (今贵州省安顺市郎岱镇).1 In the village Paul Yang (杨保禄) wrote two books: Sheng
Jiao Li Zheng (《圣教理证 published in 1852
by Bishop Bai (Etienne Raymond Albrand), Apostolic Vicar of Guizhou) and Zhen
Dao Zi Zheng (沙守信的《真道自证)，published in 1718 by the Jesuit Emeric de
Chavagnac) to a learned Chinese Lu Tingmei(卢廷美). Later St. Jerome Lu
was martyred with LIN Zhao. Subsequently, St. Jerome Lu's family were all
baptised. By the end of 1853, when Fr. Thomas Luo (骆文灿) came to Maokou, there
were already more than 200 neophytes (men and woman) in the surrounding
villages. These neophetes were mostly from ethnic Dongzu. Since the numbers of
neophytes was growing rapidly and many of them were women, Fr. Thomas Luo and
St. Jerome Lu asked the virgin St. Agata Lin to come to Maokou(毛口) to establish a female
school to teach Catholic doctrine, reading and writing to the women and girls.
On 4th June 1857
behind the church in Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou, a virgins community was
established and those virgins in Guizhou were asked by the Apostolic Vicariate
to be admitted to this community.
Some time later the
governor of Anshun(安顺) Prefecture, to which
Maokou village was subject, released a public notice that prohibited people to
become a Catholic. In January 1858, Lawrence Wang Bing(王炳), who was a catechist in an nearby county
named Puan County(普安县), south-west by 100
kilometers from Maokou, came to the small village to visit Jerome Lu Tingmei to
discuss a project to build an oratory. Catechist Jerome Lu had prepared some
donations and rice for building of the chapel.
On 27 January 1858,
governor Dai(戴)
with some soldiers, came from Langdai(郎岱厅), 2 arrived at Maokou in the evening and surrounded the
oratory there. Lawrence Wang, Jerome Lu and some other Christians were
arrested. After being questioned, they were all released to go home but
required to stay in their home. A little later they went to visit Agata Lin to
let her knows there were freed. As usual at that time the female school(女堂) was separate from the
male school(男堂).
St Agata Lin encouraged them and said: “Prepare you souls. It may be martyrdom,
or at least, most likely you will be taken to the town of Langdai for
judgement.” 3 Then, the two catechists returned to their home for
night.
In the early morning, 28th January,
the governor with Jerome Lu's uncle and some soldiers went to the river bank of
the Maokou and selected a place for executing the death penalty. Then they
returned to the village and arrested Jerome Lu, Lawrence Wang and a little
later Agata Lin, the virgin catechist who was in charge of the female school.
The governor ordered them to renounce their religion again. However, they all
refused.
After interrogating
Jerome Lu and Lawrence Wang, governor Dai turned to St Agatha Lin and
interrogated Agata Lin.
“What is your family
name?”
“My family name is Lin”.
Agata Lin answered.
“Which place are you
from?”
“From Lao-ouang-tang,
behind Hong-hoa-ti.”
“Your name Lin: is it
your parents name or that of your husband when you were married?” Dai asked
again.
“It is my parents name,
because I am not married.”
“Why you don't want to
marry?”
“Me, a poor and humble
woman, I guard my virginity.” Lin answered.
“Ha! You guard your
virginity! The whole world should get married. In renouncing marriage, you are
destroying the five relations necessary for a human being. How can you come to
Maokou? What are you coming here for? Why did you come here?”
“I come to teach books.”
“What books do you teach?
You teach something to men, youth and old people?”
“In this place, the young
girls ignore our language and our custom; I teach them that they can contract
an honest marriage and then they can more easily have conversation with their
parents and their husband. I also teach them obedience. At the end, these young
girls can have their own honor which belongs to them.” Lin explained.
“You are a noble race of
Chinese, how can you come so far to instruct Tchong-kia-tse(侗家子, ethnic Dongzu)?4 What relationship do you have with these people? You
said you come to teach them. What you said is very foolish. All of you, and
Teacher Wang, comes from Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou, to Maokou; you are
from the place of Lao-ouang-tang, a distance of 80 or 90 Li (里); you all come to the
place of Maokou! You are all race of Han Chinese, but you are doing well with
the families of Tchong-kia-tse(ethnic Dongzu)! What are you really trying to do
here? I am afraid that you may organize something. I am afraid that you are
trying to start a rebellion. As for me, I am the governor, and I learned in my
town Langdai (郎岱)
that you are destroying stability a lot in this area. Really, I am afraid that
later the country may suffer a serious harm. As the governor here, I come here
to examine your doings. …... You said you come here to teach the
Tchong-kia-tse(ethnic Dongzu). Teacher Wang also said the same thing. I am
afraid that you are provoking a rebellion. As the governor, I require that you
go to abandon this evil religion? ”
St. Agata Lin firmely
replied: “I will not abandon it. Lu Da Shanren (卢大善人) and Wang Shanren (王善人) are men.5 I am just a poor and humble woman, virgin, and what
I can do to destroy the public peace? Your great man ordered me to renounce my
religion. How can I do that? I received it from my ancestors. A poor and humble
woman, I adore the Supreme Spirit, the Highest God for everything. I cannot
renounce my religion.”
“Nonsense! You are
stupid! You even do not obey the governor. You do not know the difference
between the governor and the Tchong-kia-tse(ethnic Dongzu). Ha! You come and
conspire with Dong Jia zi! 6 No doubt, you come to teach the young people and the
old people, even the governor orders you to renounce this sect and to rejoin
your family, you refuse to obey, you look down upon the governor! I can
sentence you to death, don't you understand?”7
St Agata LIN Zhao was
sentenced to death immediately.
The death penalty at that
time had a procedure: the local governor had to report to the emperor to ratify
the death penalty. According to “Laws and Regulations of the Qing Dynasty”(《大清律例》), the death
penalty generally has two procedures: one is the execution immediately (斩立决), the other is a delayed
execution (斩监侯).
Normally, the death penalty would be carried out by hanging, in some most
serious cases, it could be by beheading. In Chinese law and custom, beheading
as a penalty was more serious than hanging. Nevertheless, both sentences needed
to be ratified by the Qing Imperial Court (刑部) or by the emperor himself. Of course,
there were exceptional cases that did not need the ratification of the Imperial
Court, such as during a war. However, there are also other cases where the
death penalty could be executed immediately in its place (就地正法), such as in the plot of
treason (谋反),
rebellion(叛乱)
or gathering together to challenge the government(聚众抗官). According to the “laws and regulations
of Qing Dynasty”, “Those who spread and promote sects are to be sentenced as
slave to ethnic Elute according to the imperial edict, and in the case of those
who escaped, on the recapture they were to be executed death immediately.”8
During the rebellion of
Heavenly Principles Sect (天理教)
in Henan(河南)
Province, Emperor Jiaqing(嘉庆) in September 1813
decreed that with regard to rebellions “on the one hand to record and report,
and on the other hand to be executed to death immediately”. Possibly, this
imperial edict could be the most recent example for local governors in Guizhou
to deal with the matters of Catholic catechists. This imperial edict, in 1855,
was influenced by the Taiping Rebellion (1851-1864) in Guangxi Province. The
ethnic Miaozu, at that time, together with ethnic Dongzu in south-east of
Guizhou, lead by Zhang Xiumei (张秀眉 1822-1872), started a rebellion at
the end of 1855 and in September 1858 they even seized Zhenyuan county(镇远县), which is located east
of Guiyang by about 250 kilometers.
Yet, how did the governor
of Langdai dare to abuse his power to put the three catechists to death? It is
evident that the governor of Langdai used the exceptional procedure to punish
the three catechists with a death penalty under the guise of orgnizing a
rebellion by the ethnic Dongzu, spreading a sect in the area and gathering
together to disobey the government. Because of these three issues the governor of Langdai was able to abuse
his power and sentence the three catechists to death in a way that “at one hand
to record and report, and at the other hand to be executed death immediately”,
a further factor was that in the same province the ethnic Miaozu and Dongzu
were just rebelling and making war against the government army.
However, even in this
case, following the Chinese custom then, the three catechists still had a
chance to be saved from a death penalty. There was a very old Chinese custom
called “Dadian” (打点)
or “Dadian Dadian” for the prison guards and even for the local governor. If
the relatives or friends of the one who was put into prison wanted him or her
to be less tortured or to reduce the penalty or to have a little better board
and lodging, they must give some money to the guards or the governor. This was
called “Dadian” in Chinese and it was well-known, popular and semi-public
custom in Chinese prison system. For example, if one was punished by a penalty of
“Dabanzi”（打板子,
beating on the buttock)，which
was a quite popular penalty for people given by the local governor according to
laws that determined how many strikes should be beaten. If the guards got some
money or “Dadian” they would beat the people very slightly, otherwise, they
would beat the prionser as heavy as normal. Even though there was a costom that
“It is improper for men and women to touch each other's hand in passing
objects”(男女授受不亲), however this penalty
of “Dabanzi” was the same for both a man and a woman. However, this long
standing Chinese custom “Dadian” was seen as bribery by the missionaries and
the Chinese christians were forbidden to use “Dadian”. In a letter dated on 14th September
1858, eight month later after the three catechists were beheaded, Fr. Paul
Perny (童文献),
the pro-vicar apostolic of Guizhou made reports about the three martyrs and
said also that whenever Christians were put in prison “it is a rule in the
Mission of Kooy-tcheoo never to purchase life. If our neophytes are poor, we
support them in prison; and this being done, their fate, like our own, is in
the hands of God.”9
St. Agata Lin, as a woman, followed another ancient
Chinese custom, foot binding. Therefore, on the road to the bank of
the river of Maokou, where she with Jerome Lu and Lawrence Wang would be
beheaded, the soldiers seized her by the hair to train her move so that she can
follow the others. Hundreds people, indifferent to what was happening, followed
them just to see the death of the tree catechists. At the place nearby, the
River-god Temple, Agata Lin was beheaded. The executioner were not accoustomed
to performing the penalty of beheading, so that he chopped several times to cut
off the head of St. Agata Lin. According to the custom, the garments of those
beheaded, and their shoes, etc. were shared by the executioners. The day is 28
January 1858.10 The heads of the three catechists were hung up in
the trees along the road for some days. One of the executioners who beheaded
Jerome Lu lived in the Maokou village, at least, till 1889. In 1890 when Mgr.
Guichard visited the village he obtained the sabre with which St. Jerome Lu was
beheaded.
Then, in the afternoon of
that day, the bodies of the three catechists were buried in a nearby place. St
Jerome Lu's son buried his father. St Agata Lin and St. Lawrance Wang were
buried by some Christians named Lou Lao-pe (卢老伯--音译), Pe-y(白义—音译)，Pe San-ye(白三爷) and Lou Tin-chen(卢廷真—音译).
Their heads were still hanging by the roadside of Maokou as the custom for the
great criminals. Some long time later, one month or three months, by the order
of the local official, their heads were allowed to be taken down and to be
buried in a hill in Maokou. According to the trandition for the great
criminals, the heads of those executed were not allowed to be buried with their
bodies. Only some time later, St. Jerome Lu's son took his father's head and
buried together with the body. Five years later, on the night of 4thJanuary
1860, Fr. Jean-Victor Muller, with the help of catechist Joseph Zhang and some
Christians, collected the heads of those executed, and 6 days later the bones
of three Saints were transferred to the missionary college at Lu Chongguan (鹿冲关，贵阳北郊) in Guiyang. Fr. Paul
Perny (童文献)
received them in pleasure respectfully. There, the relics of the three Saints were in safe
keeping.
Reflections on St. Agata LIN Zhao's life
On 2nd May 1909,
Agata LIN Zhao was beatified by Pope Pius X and on March 10th , 2000 her
canonization with other 120 Chinese Saints was announced by Pope John Paul II.
St Agata Lin's feast is celebrated each year on 9th July, the feast of
Chinese Blessings and Martyrs, in the Catholic Church's calendar.
Of course, there are many
possible perspective for reflection on the life of a Saint. The well-know
wisdom is from Tertullian, who wrote in the year 197: “the blood of martyrs is
the seed of Christians”. The first Christians at the beginning of Christianity
witnessed to their Faith by offering their life. It is beyond doubt that their
witness imitated their Lord Jesus Christ, who died on the Cross and He taught
his followers that "unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies,
it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit"
(Jn 12: 24) The martyrs become the seed of Christians because the Seed, that is
the Word of God, produces much fruit in their life. “The seed is the word of
God. ”(Lk 8:11) The seed is the Word of God, that is Jesus Christ. Beyond all
appearances, it is in keeping and spreading the Word of God that the martyrs
offered their life once and completely. The Book of Revelation clearly states that
“I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered because
of the witness they bore to the word of God.”(6:9) The martyrs are identifying
themselves with Christ. Identifying with Christ is asked for by Jesus Christ to
his followers in their day to day life. “I am the light of the world. Whoever
follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”(Jn
8:12) Thus, in the Catholic Church there are not only martyr Saints but also
other type of Saints, such as confessor of the faith. Canonization in the
Catholic Church is a statement of the Church that the person certainly enjoys
the Beatific Vision of Heaven. As Pope Francis said in his recent Apostolic
Exhortation, Gaudete et Exsultate, “The processes of beatification and
canonization recognize the signs of heroic virtue, the sacrifice of one’s life
in martyrdom, and in certain cases where a life is constantly offered for
others, even until death.”11
We have the long parable
of the sowing of the seed in Mt 13:1-43. Jesus Christ, explained this parable
to his disciples. Nevertheless, his disciples did not seem to understand the
parable quite well because later they approached him and asked: “Explain to us
the parable of the weeds in the field.”(Mt 13: 36) Then, Jesus explained to
them that “He who sows good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the
good seed the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil
one.”(Mt 13:37-38) However, Jesus did not stop here, he continued to say “and
the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and
the harvesters are angels.”(Mt 13:39)
The martyrs and the
Saints are the good seed, the children of the Kingdom, in the field of the
world. The good seeds have been sowed in the field of the world during their
life time. The good seeds are growing little by little and “When it was fully
grown, it became a large bush and the birds of the sky dwelt in its
branches.”(Lk 13:19) The time that it is fully grown is the time of harvest,
and “the harvest is the end of the age”. This perspective allow us to take in a
much more longer historic view, in understanding martyrdom. Particularly in the
postmodern and multi-religions world of today, seeing martyrdom in this
historic view is extremely important for human society and cutlure.
As well as this long
historic view, another point should be mentioned. The canonization of a Saint,
even a martyr, is not the Church making a martyr or making a
Saint, but, as Pope Francis said, is to “recognize the signs of heroic virtue,
the sacrifice of one’s life in martyrdom, and certain cases where a life is
constantly offered for others, even until death.”12Therefore, from the life of a Saint we evidently can see
“the signs of heroic virtue”, “the sacrifice of one's life in martyrdom” and “a
life is constantly offered for others”. These elements or signs of the life of
a Saint cannot be completely separated from one another since a human life is a
life in its totality. Nevertheless, as Pope Francis said, “Their lives may not
always have been perfect, yet even amid their faults and failings they kept
moving forward and proved pleasing to the Lord.”13
From the life of St.
Agata LIN Zhao, we can see the signs of her heroic virtue, the sacrifice of
being beheaded, and her life constantly offered for others. Reflecting on St.
Agata Lin's life, we can obviously see the good seed, the Word of God, that she
has sowed. She is keeping and spreading the word of God in the field of the
world. St. Agata Lin is, in her life, building the “kingdom of love, justice
and universal peace.” 14 Jesus Christ, whom St. Agata Lin followed, is the
perfect visible example of keeping and spreading the word of God because He
himself is the Word of God. If we go into detail of St. Agata Lin's life, we
will recognize that the seed is growing although it might be not very fast.
St. Agata Lin, in her
life, has broken the Chinese custom of child marrage. There was a very
popular Chinese tradition of pointing to the stomach where the unborn child
would be and it was time for marriage(指腹为婚); or the girl child, at
an early age, would be sold to the boy husband and sent to his home for
marriage(童养媳).
In both cases when they reached a certain age, they could get married.
According to reports, even in the present times there were still some cases of
child marrage in China,15 although according to present Chinese law the legal
marriage age is 20 for a girl and 22 for a boy. Following the Chinese
tradition, St. Agata Lin was also engaged at a very early age with another
Catholic family by her parents. In following this custom, was a simple way for
both Catholic families to avoid their children marrying into a non-Catholic
family. However, when St. Agata was growing up, she decided to follow a call to
be a virgin to devote herself to God. Then, she has to break the early
engagement made by her parents. Within the Chinese custom of the time, this
would be seen as unbelievable. However, St. Agata Lin, following her conscience
and her calling from God, made her decision and asked the missionary to help
her to persuade the parents of both family not to proceed with this
arrangement. Encouraged by her faith, St. Agata Lin firmly called off the child
engagement that was one of most popular Chinese tradition in that time.
Considering this popular bad Chiense custom in that time, wasn't this firmly
calling off the child marrage engagement a sign of heroic virtue?
After calling off the
engagement, St. Agata Lin devoted herself to God and to educate women and
girls. A Chinese virgin (贞女) at that time was some one staying in
family, not in a convent, but devoted her life to God and, under the guidance
of the missionary, to educate women and girls, to teach the neophytes Catholic
doctrine, to baptize the new converts and the abandoned infants, to care for
orphans and attend to the medical cares centres opened by the Catholic Church.
According to the records, in Guizhou Province from 1855-1859 there were 121,841
abandoned infants baptized. In the year 1853 there were already four medical
care pharmacies in Guiyang(贵阳府), Dingfan(定番州), Duyun(都匀府)，Zhenyuan(镇远府). 16 The abandoned infants were already in a very bad
state of health, some were even dying, and many of the infants died after
baptism. The Church baptized the dying infants because she believed that the
baptized infants, if they dead before growing up and committed any sins by
themselves, they would enter immediately to Heaven. In the year 1855 there were
total 2,600 Catholics in Guizhou Province and ten years later in 1865 there
were 5, 200 Catholics. Comparing tto he population in Guizhou, the Catholics
were small and minority. However,
there were good numbers of Chinese virgin in Guizhou Province.
In 1723 the Yongzheng
Emperor began to expel foreign missionaries and later Qianlong Emeror in 1736
also decreed the prohibition of people to believe in Catholic Faith. During
this persecution period, the virgins played a very important role in spreading
the gospel. The virgins normally lead some small women communities in their
nearby villages according to the arrangement of missionaries (including Chinese
priests), both hidden in rural areas and working in the emperor's court.
Neverthelss, the virgins
had to face a heavy social pressure. According to a long Chinese tradition in
that time, a widower was hightly praised and honored for not marrying again.
There was a saying that a good women never marries a second husband (好女不嫁二夫). Some famous
widows, who were widowed for a long time, could obtain an honorable decree from
the emperor. But if a woman did not marry she would not be tolerated by her
family and by the society. A Chinese priest, Fr. Li Ande(李安德), reported in 1748 that
a clan elder refused to recognize his blood sister and granddaughter because
they became a virgin. People in the village would gossip that they were
vampires or sinister evil attempts behind the decision not to marry. The
governor of Langdai in questioning St. Agata Lin showed this idea clearly. He
said that “The whole world should get married. Renounce marriage, you are
destroying the five relations necessary for human being.” The five relations
were Emperor and Subjects(君臣)，Father and Son(父子)， Elder and Younger brothers(兄弟), Husband and Wife(夫妇) as well as Friends(朋友). These five relations
were under the three cardinal guiding principles, namely Emperor guides the
Subjects(君为臣纲), Father guides the
Sons(父为子纲), Husband guides the
Wives(夫为妻纲). That was the reason
that the governor of Langdai considered that a woman who did not marry was destroying
the five relations.
However, even under this
heavy family and social pressure, the virgin group in Guizhou Province as well
as in other provinces developed very well. “The Christian virgins phenomenon
was initiated by the Chinese themselves. In the beginning all Christian virgins
were Chinese women. They chose not to marry and devote themselves to religious
life. Albeit at the beginning they obviously intended to limit themselves for a
life of meditation, but in 1770s, they accepted the mission for apostolate and
social works.”17 Then, the missionaries in Guizhou and nearby
province of Sichuan developed some regulations for the Chinese virgins. They would
educate themselves in reading and writing, even though they were from a poor
family. This was an obviously breaking through in the long Chinese tradition
that girls seldom could get some education. Also, they started to make decision
for themselves through having a devoted celibacy life. In some cases they would
have a public vows in front of Catholic people. Besides these, the Chinese
virgins could guide a female school as leader and teacher if their education
and personality qualified them like St. Agata Lin. This was also a significant
break-through in the long Chinese tradtion that only men could teach and
dominate women under one of the three cardinal guiding principles. St. Agata
Lin, a Chinese virgin, a Chinese female, in living her faith became an educated
leader and teacher in a male dominated rural Chinese villages, even if only in
a female school. What a significant sign of heroic virtue in the Chinese
traditional culture under the heavy unjust social pressure! Could we not say
this was a kind of persecution for St. Agata Lin even if the Saint was not
beheaded? In fact, Saint Ambrose has said, when the external persecutions had
ended in his time, that “How many today are Christ’s secret martyrs, bearing
witness to the Lord Jesus!” (Comment for psalm 118).
St. Agata Lin's life was
constantly offered for others, especially for those un-educated ethnic women
and girls. This constant offering of her life for others was significant in
that time. The women and girls groups that St. Agata Lin was leading and
educating were mostly Dongzu Ethnic. In the time of Qing Dynasty, these ethnic
minorities were discriminated by the Han nation. The governor Dai from Langdai
clearly showed his attitude to the ethnic Dongzu: “You are a noble race of
Chinese, how can you come so far to instruct Tchong-kia-tse.” “You are all race
of Han Chinese, but you are doing well with the families of
Tchong-kia-tse(ethnic Dongzu)!” In the eyes of governor Dai the ethnic Dongzu,
especially the women, were not worthy of being educated. Even to get along well
with them was wrong and should be avoided. However, St. Agata Lin as a female
of Han nationality did not take this attitude and encouraged by her Catholic
faith she knew that the ethnic Dongzu “young girls ignore our language and our
custom” and she came to teach them so that “they can more easily have
conversation with their parents and their husband.” This basic education for
the ethnic Dongzu women and girls were greatly needed! It is true that at that
time all women in China lacked basic education. However, St Agata Lin was
instructing the discriminated ethnic Dongzu women! That shows the significant
sign of her heroic virtue and her life constantly offered for others who were
un-justly discriminated against by her own Han nation. In her life which she
constantly offered for others, St Agata Lin was promoting equity among the
nations by leading and educating the ethnic Dongzu women and girls. The purpose
of her doing was not only spreading the gospel and teaching Catholic doctrine
to the ethnic Dongzu women, but, as the Saint has said, “at the end, these
young girls can get their own honor that belongs to them.” Helping people to
get their own honor and their own dignity, that was the end St Agata Lin for
which constantly offered her life. It is evident that in St. Agata Lin's vision
this end could be reached through Catholic faith as instructed by her, and in
her leading and teaching groups of ethnic Dongzu women and girls.
St Agata Lin not only
constantly offered her life for this end but also sacrificed her life totally.
Obviously, it is possible that if the Christians and missionaries followed the
Chinese bad tradition or custom to make some “Dadian” or, in other words,
bribery, St Agata Lin and other two Saints would have not been beheaded by the
governor of Langdai. Yet, the missionaries had their principles that “it is a
rule in the Mission of Kooy-tcheoo never to purchase life. If our neophytes are
poor, we support them in prison; and this being done, their fate, like our own,
is in the hands of God.”18 In fact St. Jerome Wang's family was rich enough to
“Dadian Dadian”(打点打点).
But, the Christians in Maokou kept their faith and observed the rule of the
Church, and they did not engage in bribery or they did not purchase life!
Nevertheless, this could be considered by Chinese custom as foolish because the
Christians did not want to spend money to purchase life. St Agata Lin and the
other Christians in Maokou witnessed in their life the truth that “Dadian” or
bribery was a bad and dark custom that should be destroyed. They, following Jesus Christ, the light of the world,
walked out of the darkness of life and the darkness of the culture, and by
totally offering their life they witnessed to the light of the life and the
light of the civilization.
1郎岱，因建成于古郎山（又称老王山)而得名，春秋时期属牂牁（zngk)国，秦汉时为夜郎国腹地，语出《史记》的著名成语“夜郎自大”即指此地。今为贵州省六枝特区。毛口(或茅口)据郎岱不到30公里，坐落于郎岱之西，北盘江（牂牁江）之畔，为牂牁江与磨盘江汇入之地，故有此称，素有“夜郎都邑”之称，如今是牂牁江省级风景旅游区的核心。牂牁国、夜郎国时期，境内以仡佬族为主，清时以苗族、侗族为主。
2郎岱厅于雍正九年(1731) 设置，隶属安顺府，治所在郎岱，由安顺府同知一员分驻此地负责。
3 LAUNAY, Adrien, Histoire des Missions de Chine, mission
du Kouy-Tcheou, Tome I, Société des Missions-Étrangères, 1907, p.492.
4Tchong-kia-tse(侗家子)
and Miao Tse(苗子)
are racial discrimination name to the ethnic Dongzu and Miaozu in that time.
5Lu Da Shanren and Wang Shanren means Lu Grand Nice Man and
Wang Nice Man, an honor titile called by the village people for their good doings.
6A discrimination title for calling the ethnic Dongzu.
7 LAUNAY, Adrien, Histoire des Missions de Chine, mission
du Kouy-Tcheou, Tome I, Société des Missions-Étrangères, 1907, p.499-500.
8“传习邪教人犯，拟发额鲁特为奴，各发犯曾奉有谕旨，如在配脱逃被获即行正法者，因钦遵办理。”《大清律例》：390.07。
“凡妄布邪言, 书写张贴, 煽惑人心为首者, 斩立决, 为从者皆斩监候。”《大清律例》：256.01
9“A letter from M. Perny, pro-vicar apostolic of
Kooy-tcheoo, to Messrs. The Members of the Central Council of the Propagation
of the Faith”, in: Annals of the Propagation of the Faith, Vol. XX, 1859,
p. 3, London.
10清咸丰七年十二月十四日
11Pope Francis, Apostolic Exhortation, Gaudete et
Exsultate, no. 5, 19 March 2018.
12Ibid.
13Ibid. no. 3.
14Ibid. no. 25.
15 http://www.sohu.com/a/114941801_475228
https://www.bomb01.com/article/24944/記者深入農村地方拍攝「童婚現象」的紀錄照片，13歲小妹妹的故事真的不可思議到極點啊…
16 LAUNAY, Adrien, Histoire des Missions de
Chine, mission du Kouy-Tcheou, Tome I, Société des Missions-Étrangères,
1907, p.303, 450.
17Robert E. Entenmann, Tr. GU Weimin, “Christian Virgins in
Eighteenth Century Sichuan”, in: ZHAO Jianmin, ed., Journal of Catholic
Studies, no. 1 (2004), p.173. Religious Culture Press, 2004.
18“A letter from M. Perny, pro-vicar apostolic of
Kooy-tcheoo, to Messrs. The Members of the Central Council of the Propagation
of the Faith”, in: Annals of the Propagation of the Faith, Vol. XX, 1859,
p. 3, London.
Sant' Agata Lin Zhao Vergine
e martire
>>> Visualizza la
Scheda del Gruppo cui appartiene
Ma-Trang, Cina, 1917 –
Maokou, Cina, 28 gennaio 1858
Nacque nel 1817, mentre
il padre era in carcere per la fede cristiana. Si diede durante la giovinezza
allo studio della religione cristiana per essere una valente catechista. Fu
diretta spiritualmente per un certo tempo da padre AugusteChapdelainedelle Missioni
Estere di Parigi. Insegnò il catechismo nel villaggio di Tapatien fino a quando
il vicario apostolico Albrand allargò il suo campo di apostolato, conferendole
lo stesso incarico per varie altre località. Agata condusse alla conversione
molte persone. Subì il martirio per decapitazione insieme ai catechisti
Girolamo Lu Tingmei e Lorenzo Wang Bing, il 28 gennaio 1858. È stata
beatificata, come i suoi compagni di martirio, il 2 maggio 1909 e, inserita nel
gruppo dei 120 Martiri Cinesi (di cui fa parte anche il già menzionato padre
Chapdelaine), canonizzata il 1° ottobre 2000.
Martirologio
Romano: Nella città di Maokou nella provincia del Guizhou in Cina, santi
martiri Agata Lin Zhao, vergine, Girolamo Lu Tingmei e Lorenzo Wang Bing:
catechisti, furono denunciati come cristiani sotto l’imperatore Wenzongxian e
infine decapitati.
Lin Zhao nacque nel 1817 a Ma-Trang, nella provincia di Guizhou, poco dopo che suo padre venne arrestato perché cattolico. Venne battezzata col nome di Agata tre anni dopo, alla sua liberazione.
Da bambina imparò a leggere e scrivere, cosa rara per l’epoca. Non era solo bella d’aspetto, ma anche molto intelligente: queste qualità fecero in modo che venisse promessa in sposa alla famiglia Li. Tuttavia, a diciott’anni, fece voto privato di verginità e, non appena venne a sapere della promessa, supplicò i suoi genitori di annullare il matrimonio. Anche se la cancellazione delle nozze avrebbe danneggiato la reputazione della sua famiglia nel circondario, le venne concessa.
In quello stesso anno, il padre francescano Matteo Liu le suggerì di entrare alla scuola femminile di Guiyang, per migliorare la sua istruzione.
Appena due anni dopo, dovette tornare a casa: a causa di una nuova persecuzione, suo padre era stato nuovamente arrestato e torturato. La famiglia, inoltre, venne derubata di tutti i propri beni e terreni. Quando l’uomo venne liberato, era così ammalato da non poter più lavorare, così Agata e sua madre dovettero guadagnarsi da vivere in prima persona. Padre Liu, però, venne a trovarla: l’incoraggiò e le suggerì d’insegnare il catechismo ai bambini nel tempo libero.
Dopo la morte del padre, sua madre decise di andare a vivere con un figlio nato dalle sue precedenti nozze, permettendo così ad Agata di seguire la sua vocazione. La giovane, così, divenne la direttrice di un’altra scuola femminile fondata da padre Liu e, a venticinque anni, professò formalmente il voto di verginità. Un anno dopo monsignor Albrand, il nuovo Amministratore Apostolico della diocesi di Guizhou, la incaricò dell’insegnamento alle bambine cristiane a Guiyang. Là visse austeramente, ospitata dall’insegnante Girolamo Lu Tingmei.
Quando lui e l’amico Lorenzo Wang Bing vennero arrestati e interrogati e, successivamente, liberati per avere tempo per riflettere, andarono a trovare Agata, alloggiata presso un certo Lu Ting Chen, per incoraggiarla:
«Vergine Agata, non aver paura», disse Girolamo. «Abbiamo avuto un lungo dialogo sulla fede cattolica con il mandarino. Mi sembra che il mandarino abbia parlato bene, alla fine. Senza dubbio, non abbiamo nulla da temere».
Agata, all’epoca trentanovenne, rispose:
«Preparate le vostre anime. Forse ci sarà il martirio o almeno, molto probabilmente, sarete condotti alla città di Lang-tai-tin per esservi giudicati».
Nel corso del secondo interrogatorio a cui i due catechisti vennero sottoposti, precisamente quando fu il turno di Lorenzo, il magistrato accusò Agata di essere venuta in città per collaborare al presunto complotto che credeva essere in atto da parte dei cristiani.
Poco dopo, fu il turno della vergine, che era stata arrestata forse o durante l’interrogatorio di Girolamo o al termine di esso. Quando i soldati, accompagnati da alcuni pagani, giunsero nella casa di Ting Chen, trovarono la stanza che fungeva da classe vuota, perché i bambini erano scappati. Era rimasta solo Agata, inginocchiata in preghiera, forse perché consapevole dell’arresto imminente. Dopo che ebbe consegnato alla padrona di casa i suoi effetti personali, seguì i soldati.
Gli Annali delle Missioni Estere di Parigi registrano che ella indossava un gilet di pelle sopra una lunga veste di colore blu scuro imbottita di cotone, due altre vesti più corte di cotone e dei calzoni viola. In testa portava un telo bianco, alla maniera del velo delle suore, che le copriva i capelli.
Entrata nel tribunale, piegò le ginocchia davanti al mandarino che fungeva da giudice, che l’interpellò in tono brusco:
«Perché vi mettete così vicino? Allontanatevi. Inginocchiatevi laggiù.
Agata indietreggiò di qualche passo e s’inginocchiò accanto a Lorenzo Wang Bing. Quando il funzionario ebbe finito d’interrogare lui, si rivolse alla vergine.
«Qual è il vostro cognome?».
Rispose a voce alta e comprensibile a tutti:
«Il mio cognome è Lin».
«Il vostro cognome Lin è quello dei vostri genitori, o quello della famiglia dove siete entrata col matrimonio?».
«È il nome dei miei genitori, che l’hanno ricevuto da mia nonna, perché io non mi sono sposata.
«Perché vi siete dispensata dal matrimonio?».
«Io, povera e umile donna, conservo la verginità».
«Voi preservate la verginità! Ahi! Tutti si devono sposare. Rinunciando al matrimonio, distruggete una delle cinque relazioni necessarie fra gli uomini [secondo la tradizione cinese]. Come dunque avete potuto venire a Maokou? Chi vi ha mandata qui? Perché vi siete venuta?».
«Sono venuta per insegnare i libri».
«Quali libri insegnate? […]]».
«In questo paese, le bambine ignorano la nostra lingua e la nostra educazione. Io gliele insegno, affinché esse possano contrarre onesti matrimoni e quindi conversare con facilità con i genitori del loro marito. Inoltre, io insegno loro l’obbedienza. Infine, queste bambine imparano a rendere a ciascuno l’onore che gli è dovuto».
«Il mandarino non credeva a quello che la vergine raccontava: non capiva perché una donna sola, di un’etnia diversa da quella degli abitanti del luogo, si fosse avventurata in un luogo così lontano dal suo villaggio d’origine. Evidentemente, concluse, lei e gli altri due stavano architettando qualcosa di sospetto, sotto il pretesto di fare gli insegnanti. Le chiese dunque:
«Vi pentite di praticare questa religione cattiva?».
La vergine, con tono di voce pacato, rispose:
«Io non mi pento! I signori Lu e Wang sono uomini; io, povera e umile donna, vergine, cosa potrei fare con loro contro la pace pubblica? Il grande uomo [il mandarino] mi ordina di rinunciare alla mia religione: come lo potrei? L’ho ricevuta dai miei antenati. Povera e umile donna, io adoro lo Spirito supremo, Principio sovrano di tutti gli esseri. Non posso rinunciare alla mia religione».
«Siete pazza! Voi non volete ubbidire al prefetto! Quale differenza tra il prefetto e i Chong-kia-tse [l’etnia che abitava a Maokou]: loro vi chiamano e voi venite per insegnare ai giovani e ai vecchi, mentre quando il prefetto vi ordina di rinunciare a questa setta e di tornare alla vostra famiglia, rifiutate di obbedirgli e lo disprezzate! Per questo, immediatamente, vi condanno a morte. Non lo capite?».
E, prendendo il suo pennello per scrivere, il mandarino tracciò la sua sentenza: «La donna chiamata Lin, che predica e pratica la religione del Signore del cielo, sarà punita con la morte». La stessa condanna fu emessa contro Lorenzo e Girolamo, il quale, appena l’ebbe udita, esclamò: «Gesù, salvaci!».
Fin qui il racconto come è descritto dagli Annali delle Missioni Estere di Parigi. Altre fonti affermano che Agata, non sopportando oltre gli insulti del prefetto, gli avesse chiesto: «Essere un tempio della castità significa mancare di rispetto alle autorità?». Subito dopo, gli altri due catechisti si mostrarono d’accordo con lei, causando la comune condanna.
Il 28 gennaio 1858 si consumò il loro martirio, circa verso le nove del mattino. Agata, mentre seguiva le guardie, non era legata, ma camminava di buon passo. Infine, i tre catechisti vennero condotti al terreno di esecuzione, sulla riva sinistra del fiume Ou. Il boia, per cominciare, strappò alla donna il segno della sua consacrazione, poi le legò i piedi, e sebbene chiedesse a coloro i quali la ammanettavano che lo facessero lentamente, non gli diedero retta.
Le crudeltà continuarono: il primo colpo di spada non la decapitò, bensì la colpì sul viso e la gettò al suolo. In seguito, il boia prese un coltello e cominciò a tagliare per staccarle la testa dalle spalle, ma, non si sa se per puro divertimento o per espresso ordine del mandarino, si fermò per toglierle il gilé che aveva addosso. La voce della martire, ancora viva, l’interruppe: «Preferisco che tu mi tagli cento volte con il tuo coltello piuttosto che tu mi tolga i vestiti».
Infuriato, il boia le colpì il collo con quell’arma per sette volte, al fine di staccarle la testa dal collo; ci riuscì al ventesimo colpo. Gli oltraggi non erano terminati: il cadavere di Agata venne oltraggiato proprio nel modo in cui lei non voleva. Di fronte all’evidenza, il mandarino si rese conto di aver sbagliato nell’essersi preso gioco di lei.
Si diffuse la voce che, al momento dell’esecuzione, tre fasci di luce rossa e uno di luce bianca fossero apparsi attorno a loro. Si disse anche che alcuni non cattolici, dopo la loro morte, avessero visto tre globi di luce salire in cielo. Alcuni loro amici, di notte, vennero a seppellirli.
Una curiosa leggenda racconta che un barbiere avesse tagliato le lunghe trecce che Agata portava sotto il velo, prima che lei venisse seppellita. Di notte, l’uomo sentì una voce femminile gridare: «Mi hanno rubato i miei capelli! Ridatemeli!»; subito corse a riportarli al luogo dell’esecuzione. Fatto sta che proprio alcune trecce attribuite alla martire, insieme a dei frammenti di ossa, vennero in possesso della Venerabile Paolina Jaricot, fondatrice dell’Opera della Propagazione della Fede, e oggi sono esposti nella sua casa-museo a Lione. Altre sue reliquie sono state collocate sotto l’altar maggiore della cattedrale di Anlong.
Agata Lin e i suoi compagni di martirio vennero inclusi nel gruppo di 33 martiri dei Vicariati Apostolici di Guizhou, Tonchino Occidentale e Cocincina, il cui decreto sul martirio venne promulgato il 2 agosto 1908. La beatificazione, ad opera di san Pio X, avvenne il 2 maggio 1909. Inseriti nel più ampio gruppo dei 120 martiri cinesi, capeggiati da Agostino Zhao Rong, vennero infine iscritti nell’elenco dei santi il 1 ottobre 2000, da parte del Beato Giovanni Paolo II.
Il ricordo della vergine insegnante è rimasto vivo, soprattutto come protettrice delle vocazioni femminili asiatiche. Ad esempio, l’“Annuaire de l’Eglise catholique en Chine” del 1950 riportava, fra le congregazioni religiose di diritto diocesano del Vicariato Apostolico di Anlong, il nome delle “Suore della Beata Agata Lin”. Quella Congregazione era nata nel 1937, quando ventidue giovani, sotto la supervisione delle Suore Missionarie Canadesi di Nostra Signora degli Angeli, avevano iniziato la scuola per le prime aspiranti. Infine, vale la pena di segnalare che una Casa di noviziato dell’Istituto del Verbo Incarnato, situata a Lipa, nelle Filippine, è intitolata a lei.
Autore: Emilia Flocchini
SOURCE https://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/38885
Santa Ágata Lin Zhao
Nacimiento : 1817
(Ma-Trang, Guizhou, China)
Fallecimiento : 28
de enero del año 1858 (Mao Kou, Guizhou, China)
Beatificación : 2 de
mayo de 1909 por el papa San Pío X
Canonización : 1 de
octubre de 2000 por el papa San Juan Pablo II
Festividad : 28 de enero
Otros santos : Ágata
Santa Ágata Lin Zhao fue
una maestra y catequista virgen y mártir china bajo la dominación del emperador
Tu-Duc.
Biografía
Ágata nació en 1817 en
Ma-Trang, provincia de Guizhou, China, poco después de que su padre fuera
arrestado por ser católico y fue bautizada tres años después cuando su padre
fue liberado.
De niña aprendió a leer y
escribir, algo raro en esos años. No solo era hermosa, sino también muy
inteligente, y estas cualidades la hacían prometida estar casada con un miembro
de la familia Li. Sin embargo, a los dieciocho años, hizo un voto privado de virginidad
y, tan pronto como se enteró de la promesa, rogó a sus padres que anularan el
matrimonio. Aunque la cancelación del matrimonio hubiera dañado la reputación
de su familia en el distrito, fue otorgada. En ese mismo año, el padre
franciscano Matteo Liu le sugirió que ingresara en la escuela de mujeres de
Guiyang para mejorar su educación.
Apenas dos años más tarde
tuvo que regresar a casa debido a una nueva persecución, su padre fue
nuevamente arrestado y torturado. Además, la familia fue despojada de todos sus
bienes y tierras. Cuando el padre fue liberado, estaba tan enfermo que ya no
podía trabajar, por lo que Ágata y su madre tenían que ganarse la vida. El
padre Liu la visita, la alenta y le sugirió que enseñe catecismo a los niños en
su tiempo libre.
Después de la muerte de
su padre, su madre decidió irse a vivir con un hijo nacido de su matrimonio
anterior, lo que le permitió a Ágata seguir su vocación. La joven se convirtió
así en la directora de otra escuela femenina fundada por el padre Liu y, a los
veinticinco años, profesó formalmente el voto de virginidad. Un año después,
Monseñor Albrand, el nuevo Administrador Apostólico de la diócesis de Guizhou,
le encargó que enseñara a las niñas cristianas en Guiyang.
Allí vivió austera, a
cargo del profesor Girolamo Lu Tingmei. Cuando él y su amigo San Lorenzo
Wang Bing fueron arrestados e interrogados y luego liberados para tener
tiempo de reflexionar, fueron a ver a Ágata, que se alojó con un tal Lu Ting
Chen, para alentarla. En el segundo interrogatorio al que fueron sometidos los
dos catequistas, precisamente cuando fue el turno de Lorenzo, el magistrado
acusó a Ágata de haber ido a la ciudad para colaborar en la presunta
conspiración que los cristianos que creían que estaba teniendo lugar.
Poco después, fue el
turno de la virgen, quien fue arrestada durante el interrogatorio de San
Jerónimo Lu Tingmei o al final de la misma. Cuando los soldados,
acompañados por algunos paganos, llegaron a la casa de Ting Chen, encontraron
la habitación que servía como aula vacía porque los niños habían escapado. Solo
Ágata se quedó arrodillada en oración, tal vez porque estaba al tanto de la
inminente detención. Los Anales de las Misiones Extranjeras de París registran
que llevaba un chaleco de cuero sobre un vestido largo azul oscuro acolchado
con algodón, otros dos vestidos más cortos de algodón y pantalones morados. En
su cabeza llevaba un paño blanco, como el velo de las monjas, que cubría su
cabello. Después de haber entregado sus pertenencias a su casera, siguió a los
soldados.
Cuando entró a la corte,
dobló las rodillas muy cerca de Tai Lou Iche, el mandarín que servía de juez, y
fue obligada a arrodillarse junto a Lorenzo Wang Bing. Cuando el funcionario
terminó de interrogarlo, se volvió hacia la virgen y la interrogó sobre ella,
su familia y el mótivo por que no se caso; explicó que fue a educar a las niñas
pequeñas y enseñarle su idioma. El mandarín no creyó y concluyó que ella y los
otros dos estaban planeando algo sospechoso. Le preguntó si renunciaba a la fe
cristiana y ella dijo que no. El mandarín los condenó a muerte y ellos
exclamaron: "¡Jesús, sálvanos!.
El 28 de enero de 1858,
consumó su martirio alrededor de las nueve de la mañana. Ágata siguió a los
guardias sin estar atada y caminaba a paso ligero. Los tres catequistas fueron
conducidos al campo de ejecución, en la orilla izquierda del río Ou. El verdugo
le rasgó la ropa de Ágata, le ató los pies y, aunque pidió que la esposaron
lentamente, no lo escucharon. El primer golpe de la espada no la decapitó, sino
que la golpeó en la cara y la tiró al suelo. Luego, el verdugo tomó un cuchillo
y comenzó a cortar para quitarle la cabeza, pero no se sabe si por puro placer
o por el mandato expreso del mandarín; se detuvo para quitarle el chaleco que
llevaba puesto y la mártir, todavía viva, le digo que prefería que le cortara
cien veces con el cuchillo en lugar de que le quitará la ropa. Enfurecido, el
verdugo golpeó su cuello con su arma siete veces, para separar su cabeza de su
cuello.
En el momento de la ejecución,
tres rayos deluz roja y uno de luz blanca habían aparecido alrededor de ellos.
Algunos paganos, después de su muerte, habían visto tres globos de luz elevarse
en el cielo. Algunos de sus amigos se llevaron los cuerpos de los mártires de
noche y los enterraron.
Reliquias
Un barbero había cortado
las largas trenzas que Ágata llevaba debajo del velo antes de ser enterrada;
por la noche, el hombre escuchó una voz femenina que gritaba: "¡Me
robastes el pelo! ¡Devuelvelo!". Inmediatamente se apresuró a devolverlos
al lugar de ejecución.
Algunas trenzas de la
mártir, junto con fragmentos de sus huesos, estaban en posesión de la Venerable
Paulina Jaricot, fundadora de la Obra de la Propagación de la Fe, y hoy se
exhiben en su casa-museo en Lyon. Sus otras reliquias fueron colocadas bajo el
altar mayor de la catedral de Anlong.
Canonización
Ágata Lin y sus
compañeros de martirio se incluyeron en el grupo de 33 mártires de los
Vicariatos Apostólicos de Guizhou, Tonkin Occidental y Cochinchina, cuyo
decreto sobre el martirio se promulgó el 2 de agosto de 1908. Fue beatificada
por San Pío X el 2 de agosto de 1908. Fue canonizada el 1 de octubre
de 2000 por San Juan Pablo II.
Veneración
La memoria de la maestra
virgen se mantuvo viva y se le concidera protectora de las vocaciones femeninas
asiáticas. Por ejemplo, el "Annuaire de l'Eglise catholique en Chine"
de 1950 informó, entre las congregaciones religiosas de derecho diocesano del
Vicariato Apostólico de Anlong, esta las "Hermanas de la Beata Ágata
Lin". Esa Congregación nació en 1937, cuando veintidós jóvenes, bajo la
supervisión de las Hermanas Misioneras Canadienses de Nuestra Señora de los
Ángeles, habían comenzado una escuela para las primeras aspirantes. Finalmente,
vale la pena señalar que la Casa del Noviciado del Instituto del Verbo
Encarnado, Lipa, Filipinas, lleva su nombre.[1]
Referencia
↑ Emilia Flocchini. «Sant' Agata
Lin Zhao Vergine e martire». Santi e Beati. Consultado el 28 de enero de
2019.
SOURCE : https://santoral.fandom.com/es/wiki/Santa_%C3%81gata_Lin_Zhao
