Lantrua, Giovanni of Triora, St.
LANTRUA, GIOVANNI OF TRIORA, ST.
Franciscan priest, martyr; b. Triora (Savona), Italy, March 15, 1760; d. Changsha (Hunan), China, Feb. 7, 1816. After joining the Franciscans (1777), he was ordained (1784) and then served as superior of various houses in Tarquinia and Velletri until he left for China (1798). A long delay in Lisbon and a difficult sea voyage delayed his arrival at Macau until 1800. During a period of political upheavals and religious persecutions, he exercised a zealous apostolate in the Provinces of Hunan, Hupeh, and Kiangsi from 1802 until his arrest in July 1815. After six months of imprisonment and torture, he was put to death by strangulation. His remains were transported to Macau (1819) and later to Rome, where they rest in the church of S. Maria in Aracoeli. He was beatified by Pope Leo XII (May 27, 1900) and canonized (Oct. 1, 2000) by Pope John Paul II with Augustine Zhao Rong and companions.
Feast: Feb. 3.
Bibliography: Acta Apostolicae Sedis 39 (Rome 1947) 213–221, 307–311. g. antonelli, Un martire di Cina, il b. G. da Triora (Rome 1900), j. l. baudot and l. chaussin, Vies des saints et des bienheureux selon l'ordre du calendrier avec l'historique des fêtes, ed. by the Benedictines of Paris, 12 v. (Paris 1935–56); v. 13, suppl. and table générale (1959) 2:317–318.
[j. krahl]