Jean-Gabriel Perboyre

Early Years in the Countryside

Jean-Gabriel Perboyre (董文学) was born on January 6, 1802, in Montgesty in the department of Lot in southern France, into a devout farming family with many children. He was the eldest of the brothers, and several members of the family in turn gave themselves to the Congregation of the Mission (also called the Lazarists or Vincentians). As a boy he went with his younger brother to study at a junior seminary founded by their uncle, and the seed of faith quietly took root in their simple country life.

Entering the Congregation and Ordination

In December 1818 Perboyre entered the novitiate of the Congregation of the Mission, one of the first young Frenchmen to join it after the Revolution. In December 1820 he took his vows; he then studied theology in Paris and was ordained a priest in 1825. After ordination he taught in seminaries, training those who came after him, and was highly respected. Yet his heart always longed for the distant harvest field of the East, and he repeatedly asked to be sent to China as a missionary.

Ministry in Secret

In August 1835 Perboyre reached Macau, and in December of the same year he set out for the interior. He first preached in secret in the Henan area, and early in 1838 moved on to Hubei. Under the Qing dynasty's strict ban on Christianity he moved from place to place shepherding the believers, enduring hardship on the road and everywhere evading the officials' searches.

Arrest and Martyrdom

In September 1839 a persecution suddenly broke out, and while being hunted Perboyre was betrayed and captured. For nearly a year afterwards he was taken from one level of yamen (government office) to another and interrogated again and again, suffering humiliation and torture: he was stripped of his clothes and bound in chains, yet he never renounced his faith or betrayed his fellow believers. In 1840 the Qing court issued an edict condemning him to death. On September 11 of that year, in Wuchang, he was bound to a cross-shaped wooden frame and strangled, at only 38 years of age. Giving his life as a martyr in a manner closely resembling the Passion of Christ, he became one of the most stirring witnesses in the history of the Church in China.

Beatification and Canonization

On November 10, 1889, Pope Leo XIII beatified Perboyre, making him the first martyr in China to receive that honour. On June 2, 1996, Pope John Paul II canonized him as a saint, making him the first missionary martyred in China to be canonized.

Witness of a Martyr

Perboyre's life led from the French countryside to the banks of the Yangtze, and finally fell silent on a wooden cross. His witness as a martyr crosses national borders and generations, showing those who come after that true faith can stand firm even before suffering and death, and bear eternal fruit through self-giving love.