Dierkx, Anne Catherine, St.
DIERKX, ANNE CATHERINE, ST.
In religion Marie Adolphine; martyr, religious of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary; b. March 8, 1866, in the Netherlands; d. July 9, 1900, Taiyüan, China. Upon the death of her mother, Anne and her five siblings were adopted by poor neighbors. When she was old enough to work she packed coffee to help support her adoptive family. Later she was a household servant nearby, then in Antwerp. There she joined the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary (1893), where she was known for her compliance and willingness to undertake the most menial chores. In 1898, she was sent to China, where she was martyred during the Boxer Rebellion. Sr. Marie Adolphine was beatified with her religious sisters by Pope Pius XII, Nov. 24, 1946, and canonized, Oct. 2000, by Pope John Paul II with Augustine Zhao Rong and companions.
Feast: July 4.
Bibliography: g. goyau, Valiant Women: Mother Mary of the Passion and the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, tr. g. telford (London 1936). m. t. de blarer, Les Bse Marie Hermine de Jésus et ses compagnes, franciscaines missionnaires de Marie, massacrées le 9 juillet 1900 à Tai-Yuan-Fou, Chine (Paris 1947). l. m. balconi, Le Martiri di Taiyuen (Milan 1945). Acta Apostolicae Sedis 47 (1955) 381–388. L'Osservatore Romano, Eng. Ed. 40 (2000): 1–2, 10.
[k. i. rabenstein]