FENG DE, MATTHEW, ST.

Martyr, lay Franciscan; b. 1855, Xiao Bashi, Shuo Xian, Shanxi Province, China; d. July 9, 1900, Taiyüan, Shanxi Province, China. Matthew Feng De (also given as Matthias Fun–Te) was a fervent neophyte. Following his baptism and confirmation, he moved to Taiyüan to aid famine victims (1893). When his failing eyesight made it impossible to support his family, his bishop gave him a job as night watchman for the Taiyüan cathedral. He was among the several dozen trapped inside the cathedral by the Boxers on July 5, 1900, and decapitated four days later. Matthew was beatified by Pope Pius XII (Nov. 24, 1946) and canonized (Oct. 1, 2000) by Pope John Paul II with Augustine Zhao Rong and companions.

Feast: July 4.

Bibliography: l. m. balconi, Le Martiri di Taiyuen (Milan 1945). Acta Apostolicae Sedis 47 (1955) 381–388; Vita del b. A. Crescitelli (Milan 1950). 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). Les Vingt–neuf martyrs de Chine, massacrés en 1900, béatifiés par Sa Sainteté Pie XII, le 24 novembre, 1946 (Rome 1946). l. miner, China's Book of Martyrs: A Record of Heroic Martyrdoms and Marvelous Deliverances of Chinese Christians during the Summer of 1900 (Ann Arbor 1994). j. simon, Sous le sabre des Boxers (Lille1955). c. testore, Sangue e palme sul fiume giallo. I beati martiri cinesi nella persecuzione della Boxe Celi Sud–Est, 1900 (Rome1955). L'Osservatore Romano, Eng. Ed. 40 (2000): 1–2, 10.

[k. i. rabenstein]