Agatha Lin (林昭), born in Qinglong in the

Guizhou ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_map = Guizhou in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_alt = Map showing the location of Guizhou Province , map_caption = Map s ...

province of southwest China in 1817, was a Chinese saint and martyr. She was a headmistress and

catechist Catechesis (; from Greek language, Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of Conversion to Christia ...

, and one of the first to evangelize the

Miao people Miao is a word that the Chinese use to designate some ethnic minority groups living in southern China and Mainland Southeast Asia. Miao is thus officially recognized by the Chinese government as one of the largest ethnic minority groups that h ...

. She was beheaded for her faith on January 28, 1858. Agatha was beatified by Pope

Pius X Pope Pius X (; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing Modernism in the Catholic Church, modern ...

on May 2, 1909, and canonized in 2000. Her feast day is February 18.

Early life

Agatha Lin, born Lin Zhao, was born in the village of Machang in the Qinglong district of Guizhou in 1817. Her father was a salt merchant, and both parents, who were "fervent Christians", had been converted to Christianity by Zhang Dapeng. Agatha was baptized when she was three days old, though her father was in prison at the time for refusing to renounce his Catholic faith. Her parents taught Agatha to read and write, and her mother trained her to become an expert in needlework. When she was young, Agatha took "a private vow of virginity". (Her patron was

Agatha of Sicily Agatha of Sicily () is a Christian saint. Her feast is on 5 February. Agatha was born in Catania, part of the Roman Province of Sicily, and was martyred . She is one of several virgin martyrs who are commemorated by name in the Canon of the Ma ...

, who was martyred in the 3rd century.) Her parents, however, had betrothed Agatha to a man while she was a child, according to custom, but they agreed to annul the marriage when she was 18 because she had consecrated her life to God. A priest, Matthew Liu, advised Agatha's father to send her to

Guiyang Guiyang; Mandarin pronunciation: ; Chinese postal romanization, alternatively as Kweiyang is the capital of Guizhou, Guizhou province in China. It is centrally located within the province, on the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau, eastern part of the Yun ...

, the capital of Guizhou Province, to study at the school for girls founded and run by the consecrated virgin Annie Yuan of

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

. Two months later, the school was closed due to persecution, and Agatha went to Longping, near Zunyi, with the school's head teacher and studied there for two years. She returned home to discover that her father had been re-arrested, and she stayed to care for her aging mother.

Religious work

Agatha made her vows when she was 25. After the death of her father, she and her mother moved to the district of Zhenning. There she converted people to Christianity. She moved to

to become the director of a house of formation for consecrated virgins under Bishop Etienne Albrand. Her father bequeathed her enough money that she was able to buy a house near Xinggi, which served as a chapel and school. Under the direction of the priest Paul Perny, she moved to Maokou, a

Miao Miao may refer to: * Miao people, linguistically and culturally related group of people, recognized as such by the government of the People's Republic of China * Miao script or Pollard script, writing system used for Miao languages * Miao (Unicode ...

village in the Langdai district, to teach women. She was one of the first to evangelize the Miao people. After two years, her pupils were baptized.

Death and canonization

In 1858 the village where Agatha was living was raided. She was arrested alongside another catechist, Jerome Lu Tingmei. Both were condemned to death, "after they had been denounced as Christians". They along with Laurence Wang Bing, a successful farmer, were beheaded on January 28, 1858. She was beatified by

Pope Pius X Pope Pius X (; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing Modernism in the Catholic Church, modern ...

in 1909, and was canonized in 1984. Her feast day is February 18. Agatha Lin Zhao is honored (with Agnes Tsao Kou Ying and

Lucy Yi Zhenmei Lucy Yi Zhenmei; Sichuanese romanization: ''I Chen-me''. (December 9, 1815 – February 19, 1862) was a Sichuanese Catholic saint from Mianyang, Sichuan Province, China. She is the lone woman of the five Guizhou Martyrs, a subset of the much ...

) with a Lesser Feast on the

liturgical calendar The liturgical year, also called the church year, Christian year, ecclesiastical calendar, or kalendar, consists of the cycle of liturgical days and seasons that determines when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be obs ...

of the

Episcopal Church in the United States of America The Episcopal Church (TEC), also known as the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America (PECUSA), is a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion, based in the United States. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is ...

on February 19.

References

{{authority control 1817 births 1858 deaths 19th-century Christian saints 19th-century Christian martyrs 19th-century Chinese educators Anglican saints Beatifications by Pope Pius X Canonizations by Pope John Paul II Catholic Church in Guizhou 19th-century Chinese women educators Qing dynasty Christians

Early life

Religious work

Death and canonization

See also

References