Augustin Schoeffler (22 November 1822–1 May 1851) was a

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and

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

in the

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and a member of the

Paris Foreign Missions Society The Society of Foreign Missions of Paris (, , MEP) is a Catholic Missionary order, missionary organization. It is not a religious institute, but an organization of secular clergy, secular priests and Laity, lay persons dedicated to missionary wo ...

. He was a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

who joined the Foreign Missions of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. He worked as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

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and was one of two French missionaries killed in northern Vietnam between 1847 and 1851. At the time, it was illegal to proselytise in Vietnam. His

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is 1 May (2 May locally in

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Early life and education

Augustin Schoeffler was born on the 22 November 1822, in Mittelbronn, France."Saint Augustine Schoeffler", Société des Missions Etrangères de Paris
/ref> He was baptized the next day. From 1834 to 1842 he studied at the minor seminary of Pont-à-Mousson and the college of

Phalsbourg Phalsbourg (; ; Lorraine Franconian: ''Phalsburch'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments of France, department in Grand Est in north-eastern France, with a population of about 5,000. It lies high on ...

. From 1842 to 1846 Schoeffler studied Philosophy at the major seminary of Nancy. On the 5 October 1846, he began training in the Seminary of Foreign Missions of Paris. On 29 May 1847, Augustin Schoeffler was ordained a priest in Paris.

Missionary life

On 18 November 1847, Father Schoeffler left

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arriving in

Tonkin Tonkin, also spelled Tongkin, Tonquin or Tongking, is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain '' Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, including both the ...

on 6 July 1848. From 1848 to 1851 he worked as missionary while learning the Vietnamese language. In the spring of 1850 his bishop gave him the task of

evangelizing Evangelism, or witnessing, is the act of sharing the Christian gospel, the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. It is typically done with the intention of converting others to Christianity. Evangelism can take several forms, such as personal ...

Son Tay in the north. Schoeffler was arrested on 1 March 1851, and on 5 March found guilty of proselytising. He was beheaded on 1 May 1851, at Son Tay. Martyrdom of St Augustin Schoeffler

As Father Schoeffler walked to his place of execution, a placard, which read, "He preached truly the whole charge of preaching the religion of Jesus. His crime is patent. Let Mr. Augustin be beheaded, and cast into a stream." was carried before him. Augustin Schoeffler's head was thrown into the Red River, and was never recovered. The crowd rushed to collect relics. Some even uprooted the grass that was stained with his blood. His body was buried on the site of his execution. Two days later, local Christians exhumed the body and reburied it in a Christian village nearby.

Veneration

On 24 September 1857, Augustin Schoeffler was declared

Venerable ''The Venerable'' often shortened to Venerable is a style, title, or epithet used in some Christianity, Christian churches. The title is often accorded to holy persons for their spiritual perfection and wisdom. Catholic In the Catholic Churc ...

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

. He was

beatified Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the ...

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

on 7 May 1900. He was made a

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

on 19 June 1988."Saint Augustin V. Schoeffler Collection", University of Notre Dame Archives
/ref> The Rue St Augustin Schoeffler is located in Mittelbronn.

Relics

As of 10 May 2009, a

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...

of Augustin Schoeffler can be found at the Assumption Grotto Church in

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. Descendants of Schoeffler's family live in the area and attend the church.Te Deum laudamus!
/ref>

References

External links

Archives of the Paris Foreign Missions Society
* http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/51590 * https://web.archive.org/web/20130308174335/http://www.op-stjoseph.org/dom-images/pdf-files/witnesses.pdf {{DEFAULTSORT:Schoeffler, Augustin 1822 births 1851 deaths Clergy from Moselle (department) 19th-century Christian saints 19th-century executions by Vietnam 19th-century Roman Catholic martyrs Roman Catholic missionaries in Vietnam French people executed abroad French Roman Catholic saints Vietnamese Roman Catholic saints Martyred Roman Catholic priests Paris Foreign Missions Society missionaries Christian martyrs executed by decapitation People executed by Vietnam by decapitation 1851 in Vietnam