An Italian Franciscan priest killed in China during the Boxer Rebellion of 1900, one of the canonized Martyr Saints of China.

Saint Giuseppe Maria Gambaro was an Italian Franciscan priest, martyred on 7 July 1900 at Hengzhou in Hunan province, China, at about thirty years old, during the violence of the Boxer Rebellion. He is honored among the 120 Martyr Saints of China canonized in 2000.

Quick Facts

• Died: 7 July 1900 (Hengzhou, 湖南, China)
• Age at death: about 30 years
• Venerated as: Priest and martyr
• Canonized: 2000
• Beatified: 1946

Who Was Saint Giuseppe Maria Gambaro?

Saint Giuseppe Maria Gambaro was an Italian Franciscan priest, martyred on 7 July 1900 at Hengzhou in Hunan province, China, at about thirty years old, during the violence of the Boxer Rebellion. He is honored among the 120 Martyr Saints of China canonized in 2000.

Historical Setting

The Boxer Rebellion of 1899 to 1901 targeted foreign missionaries and Chinese Christians across much of northern and central China amid nationalist and anti-foreign sentiment. Franciscan missions, active in China since the medieval period and reestablished in force in the modern era, suffered heavy losses of both foreign friars and Chinese converts during this uprising.

Why the Church Remembers Saint Giuseppe Maria Gambaro

As a young Franciscan missionary priest serving in Hunan, Gambaro shared the fate of many foreign and native Catholics caught in the anti-Christian violence of 1900. His death at only thirty places him among the many missionaries whose service in China was cut short by the rebellion’s violence.

Canonization and Feast Day

He was beatified in 1946 by Pope Pius XII and canonized on 1 October 2000 by Pope John Paul II among the Martyr Saints of China. Their common feast is 9 July.

What Catholics Can Learn Today

The martyrs of the Boxer Rebellion remind the Church that mission territory can turn dangerous with little warning, and that missionaries who go anyway do so knowing the risk. Saint Giuseppe Maria Gambaro’s short life of service invites gratitude for those who give themselves fully even when their time is brief.

A Prayer to Saint Giuseppe Maria Gambaro

Saint Giuseppe Maria Gambaro, young missionary who gave your life for the Church in China, pray for missionaries in danger today, and for the Catholic communities of China that you served. Amen.

Sources

• Roman Martyrology
• Vatican.va, canonisation of the Martyr Saints of China, 1 October 2000
• Order of Friars Minor, historical records