A Franciscan bishop of Shanxi, China, killed during the Boxer Rebellion of 1900, one of the canonized Martyr Saints of China.

Saint Gregorio Maria Grassi was an Italian Franciscan bishop, Vicar Apostolic in Shanxi province, China, killed on 9 July 1900 at Taiyuan, Shanxi, at sixty-six 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: 9 July 1900 (Taiyuan, 山西, China)
• Age at death: about 66 years
• Venerated as: Bishop and pastor
• Canonized: 2000
• Beatified: 1946

Who Was Saint Gregorio Maria Grassi?

Saint Gregorio Maria Grassi was an Italian Franciscan bishop, Vicar Apostolic in Shanxi province, China, killed on 9 July 1900 at Taiyuan, Shanxi, at sixty-six 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 turned with particular ferocity against Christian missions in Shanxi province, where the provincial governor actively cooperated with anti-Christian violence, resulting in the deaths of dozens of missionaries, native clergy, and Chinese Catholic laypeople in the Taiyuan massacre and related episodes during the summer of 1900.

Why the Church Remembers Saint Gregorio Maria Grassi

As the bishop responsible for the Catholic mission in Shanxi, Grassi shared the fate of many of his missionaries and flock when the persecution reached Taiyuan, his death alongside other Franciscan friars, sisters, and Chinese Catholics making the Taiyuan massacre one of the deadliest single episodes of the Boxer-era persecution.

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 day is 9 July.

What Catholics Can Learn Today

Bishop Grassi’s death alongside his own missionaries and Chinese Catholics shows a shepherd who did not abandon his flock even as violence closed in, a witness of pastoral solidarity to the very end.

A Prayer to Saint Gregorio Maria Grassi

Saint Gregorio Maria Grassi, bishop who remained with your flock in danger, pray for the Catholic Church in China and for all bishops called to stand by their people in times of persecution. Amen.

Sources

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