Vincent Lebbe

Early Years and Entering the Congregation

Vincent Lebbe (Frédéric-Vincent Lebbe) was born on 19 August 1877 in Ghent, Belgium, into a devout Catholic family. As a boy he read accounts of missionaries martyred in China and resolved to devote his life to China. In 1895 he entered the Congregation of the Mission (Lazarists) in Paris, determined to serve as a missionary in the Far East.

Rooted in Tianjin

In 1901, as the smoke of the Boxer Uprising had only just cleared, the young Lebbe arrived in China, first in the Diocese of Beijing and later putting down long-term roots in Tianjin. He set aside the airs of a foreigner, studied Chinese hard, wore Chinese clothes, ate Chinese food and lived in the Chinese way. He loved this land deeply, and gradually formed the conviction for which he later became widely known: "China for the Chinese, and the Chinese for Christ." He firmly believed that the gospel belonged to China, and that the church should not become an appendage of the colonial powers.

Founding Yishi Bao

In 1915 he founded the Catholic daily Yishi Bao (益世报) in Tianjin. It criticized the ills of the day and worked to enlighten the public, and for a time it was ranked alongside papers such as Ta Kung Pao (大公报) as one of the major newspapers of the Republic of China. In the Laoxikai Incident of 1916, when the French Concession sought to seize church property by force, Lebbe stood up in support of the Chinese and protested the injustice. This angered the authorities, and he was transferred out of Tianjin and sent back to Europe. This setback did not shake his love for China; instead, in Europe he campaigned all the more actively on behalf of the Chinese church.

Striving for the Church's Self-Governance

For many years he petitioned Rome, urging that the Chinese church be led by Chinese. On 28 October 1926, Pope Pius XI personally consecrated the first 6 Chinese bishops in St. Peter's Basilica, a historic step in the indigenization of the church in China, into which years of Lebbe's effort had gone. In 1927 he formally took Chinese nationality, fulfilling by action his commitment to this land.

Founding Indigenous Religious Congregations

Afterwards he settled in the Diocese of Anguo, Hebei, where he founded two indigenous religious congregations, the Little Brothers of St. John the Baptist (耀汉小兄弟会) and the Little Sisters of St. Theresa (德来小姊妹会), training Chinese people of their own to dedicate their lives and planting the faith deep in Chinese soil.

Battlefield Relief in the War of Resistance

After the War of Resistance against Japan broke out, Lebbe, already past 60, led his followers in organizing battlefield ambulance teams that braved gunfire to rescue wounded soldiers and care for refugees, travelling across the front lines of North China. In the spring of 1940 he was detained for more than 40 days amid the fighting. After his release, his body and spirit were badly worn; he made his way to Chongqing and died of illness on Gele Mountain on 24 June of the same year, aged 62.

A Life of Love for China

Lebbe poured his whole life into China and was a pioneer of the indigenization of the Catholic Church. He "was born for love of China, and died for love of China." With sincere humility and firm conviction he won dignity and self-governance for the Chinese church, and his spirit is still respected today.