A married Chinese seminarian and Franciscan tertiary killed at Taiyuan in 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion.

Saint Matthias Feng De was a Catholic layman from Northern Shanxi, China, a seminarian and member of the Secular Franciscan Order, killed at Taiyuan on July 9, 1900, at the age of forty-four, during the anti-Christian violence of the Boxer Rebellion. Pope John Paul II canonized him in 2000 among the 120 Martyrs of China.

Quick Facts

• Born: Northern Shanxi, China
• Died: July 9, 1900, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China (age 44)
• Venerated as: Seminarian, Secular Franciscan, and martyr
• Canonized: 2000 by Pope John Paul II; Feast Day: July 9

Who Was Saint Matthias Feng De?

Matthias Feng De combined an unusual set of commitments for a layman of his time: he was married, formed as a member of the Secular Franciscan Order, and pursuing seminary studies, all within the Catholic mission territory of Northern Shanxi in northern China. That mission had grown steadily through the nineteenth century under the work of European missionary orders and their Chinese converts and collaborators.

Historical Setting

The Boxer Rebellion of 1899 to 1901 was an uprising against foreign influence and Christianity in China, driven by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists and, at points, tolerated or encouraged by elements of the Qing court. Shanxi province, where Matthias Feng De lived, saw some of the rebellion’s worst violence against Christians, with tens of thousands of Chinese Catholics and Protestants, along with foreign missionaries, killed within a few months.

Why the Church Remembers Saint Matthias Feng De

The Church remembers Matthias Feng De as one of many thousands of Chinese Catholics, most of them laypeople like himself, killed simply for their faith during the Boxer uprising. His path toward the seminary, combined with his existing family life and Franciscan commitment, reflects the particular way the Chinese Catholic community of that era wove together lay, familial, and vocational life.

Canonization and Feast Day

Matthias Feng De was beatified in 1946 and canonized in 2000 by Pope John Paul II, together with a large group of martyrs of China spanning several centuries of missionary history. Their shared feast falls on July 9, the date of his own death.

What Catholics Can Learn Today

His life shows that no single state of life — married, lay, in formation for ministry — stands outside the call to total fidelity, even to martyrdom. Catholics balancing family responsibilities with a deepening vocation can find in him a companion who did not have to choose one commitment over the other to be counted a saint.

A Prayer to Saint Matthias Feng De

Saint Matthias Feng De, husband and seminarian, you remained faithful to Christ amid violence aimed at destroying the Church in your homeland. Pray for the Catholics of China today, and for all who strive to hold together family, vocation, and faith. Amen.

Sources

• Vatican.va, biography prepared for the canonization of the Martyrs of China (2000)
• Roman Martyrology (Martyrologium Romanum)
• New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia (newadvent.org)