Since the seventeenth century, China’s history has unfortunately been full of waves of persecution against Chinese Christians, especially against Western missionaries, religious and secular.
In 1853 what the British – at the time strong trading partners of the Chinese government – called the “Boxer Rebellion” broke out, which had the aim of freeing China from the oppression of foreigners, including missionaries and Chinese Christians: many historical documents highlight the hatred of the Boxers and their explicit programme to suffocate the Christian religion in blood. They spread the most incredible calumnies, and, in the killings, they struck the leaders of Christian communities, catechists, teachers and sometimes children even a few days old who were baptized.
Of this immense crowd of martyrs, the Church has beatified those whose identity and the circumstances of their martyrdom were known to be certain, as happened to the 29 Franciscans beatified on the 27th November 1946 by Pope Pius XI. Amongst these we find the 3 Martyrs Friars Minor of the Vicariate of Hu-nan (1 Bishop and 2 priests) killed between the 4th and 7th July 1900, and the 26 beheaded on the 9th July in Tai-yuan-fu in the Vicariate of Shan-si, including 2 bishops, 3 priests and 1 religious (all Friars Minor), 7 Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Mary, 5 Chinese seminarians and 8 lay Chinese Christians, collaborators of the friars, of whom 1 belongs to the Franciscan Third Order.
They were canonized on the 1st October 2000 by Pope John Paul II with 91 other Blessed Martyrs in China, victims of the persecutions that have been unleashed against Christianity in that great country in recent centuries.
Antonino Fantosati (born Antonio Bompadre) was born in Trevi dell’Umbria on the 16th October, 1842. He received the habit in 1862, was ordained a priest in 1865 and, fascinated by the appeal of the Minister General in favour of the Chinese missions, in 1867 he decided to leave as a missionary for China, where he arrived after 66 days of navigation with other religious, including his companion in martyrdom Br. Elia Facchini.
Soon nicknamed “Fantosat” (the virtuoso) for his majestic presence and intelligent appearance, Br. Antonino initially served Scian-Kin’s mission; ten, for 25 years, he was in Upper Hu-peh, later in Laohokow, on the Han River: his incessant pastoral activity never diminished his priestly piety and observance of Franciscan religious life. He had the peculiar gift of settling any matter and of settling the most intricate affairs. After the death of the Apostolic Vicar Msgr. Billi, Br. Antonino succeeded him as Apostolic Administrator. After the plague epidemic, he redoubled his efforts to help abandoned children and bring help to the poorest, so as to attract the admiration of many pagans.
But times became increasingly hard: in the midst of a violent wave of persecution, he was appointed Apostolic Vicar of southern Hu-nan and finally, in 1892, consecrated Bishop of the territory. A disastrous drought killed people and animals with the spread of epidemics, for which Christians were the object of the strangest slanders. The persecution in Hu-nan broke out on the night of the 3rd July, 1900.
Finding himself on a pastoral visit far from his residence, he immediately set out to reach his faithful, but his boat was stormed by some rioters. He was beaten to death and brought to shore, and then martyred on the 7th July, 1900, at the age of 58, of which 33 were lived in China.
In addition to the Msgr. we remember the Friars Minor: Msgr. Gregorio Grassi, Msgr. Francesco Fogolla, Br. Giuseppe Maria Gambaro, Br. Elia Facchini, Br. Teodorico Balat, Br. Andrea Bauer, Br. Cesidio Giacomantonio.
Cf. Friars Minor Saints and Blesseds, edited by Br. Silvano Bracci, OFM and Sr. Antonietta Pozzebon, FMSC. Editrice Velar, 2009, pp. 376-387.