ZHANG BANNIU, PETER, ST.

Laborer, lay martyr, member of the Third Order of St. Francis; b. 1849, Tuling Village, Yangqu Xian, Shanxi Province, China; d. July 9, 1900, Taiyüan, Shanxi Province. Peter Zhang Banniu (also given as Chang Panniu or Tchang-Pan-Nieu) was born to the Catholic Zhang Yuke family in a Catholic village. During the last decade of his life, he moved from his farm to Taiyüan, where he did odd jobs for the Franciscan community. At the outbreak of persecution in June 1900, Peter refused to flee into hiding, because he desired martyrdom. He was captured in the Taiyüan cathedral (July 5, 1900) and beheaded with his bishop and the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary. A few days after his death, Peter appeared before his son who was praying in a chapel. He urged his son, who also became a martyr, to remain constant. Peter 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 (Lille 1955). c. testore, Sangue e palme sul fiume giallo. I beati martiri cinesi nella persecuzione della Boxe Celi Sud-Est, 1900 (Rome 1955). L'Osservatore Romano, Eng. Ed. 40 (2000): 1–2, 10.

[k. i. rabenstein]