Ferdinandus Hubertus Hamer C.I.C.M. (born 21 August 1840 in

Nijmegen Nijmegen ( , ; Nijmeegs: ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and the ninth largest of the Netherlands as a whole. Located on the Waal River close to the German border, Nijmegen is one of the oldest cities in the ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, died 23 July 1900 in To Tsjeng,

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of China. Its border includes two-thirds of the length of China's China–Mongolia border, border with the country of Mongolia. ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

) was a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

missionary to China and

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

who was killed in the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious F ...

in China.

Biography

Father Ferdinand Hamer was one of the first group of five missionary priests and brother from the congregation of

Congregatio Immaculati Cordis Mariae The CICM Missionaries, officially known as the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary () and often abbreviated as C.I.C.M, is a Catholic Church, Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men established in 1862 by th ...

who went to

in China from

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

in 1865. His three colleagues, among them the congregation's leader, Father

Theophiel Verbist Theophile Verbist, CICM ( zh, 南懷義 12 June 1823 – 23 February 1868) was a Belgian Catholic priest who founded the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, a missionary religious congregation of men. He led missionary activities in Chin ...

, died quickly, and then Father Hamer was left to return alone, although he had some lay workers to help him. Later, he became better with the language and the missionary work. In 1878, he was the first bishop to have responsibility for the

apostolic vicariate An apostolic vicariate is a territorial jurisdiction of the Catholic Church under a titular bishop centered in missionary regions and countries where dioceses or parishes have not yet been established. The status of apostolic vicariate is often ...

Gansu Gansu is a provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeastern part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Ti ...

. In 1889 he was sent by the Pope to the apostolic vicariate of Southwest-Mongolia. Although he had problems again with language, the Chinese noted his extraordinary helpfulness and devotion. In 1899, he was caught up in the anti-Christian

. In July and August 1900 the Boxers reached the area where Bishop Hamer was working. The Boxers took him to jail on 19 July, and four days later they subjected him to beatings, mockery, questioning, and torture. His nose, fingers and ears were cut off and all of his hair pulled out. That same day, 23 July, he was killed; three sticks were put together into a tripod, and an iron hook was placed at the top. The bishop was stripped and wrapped in a cotton cloth, and dunked in oil. He was then hanged by his feet from the hook with his head hanging down. The cloth was then set on fire. A loud scream was heard, and he died.

Veneration

A cause for Hamer's

beatification 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 p ...

was opened, and along with a number of companions he was declared a

Servant of God Servant of God () is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression ''Servant of God'' appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in ...

. Theologians approved his spiritual writings on 7 January 1951.

References

Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland – Biography
*Harry Knipschild: ''Soldaten van God; Nederlandse en Belgische priesters op missie in China in de negentiende eeuw'', uitgeverij Bert Bakker, 2007, paperback, 312 p. *Harry Knipschild: ''Ferdinand Hamer, 1840–1900, Missiepionier en martelaar in China'',

Universiteit Leiden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange as a Protestant institution, it holds the distinction of being the oldest university in the Neth ...

, 2005 1840 births 1900 deaths Clergy from Nijmegen People of the Boxer Rebellion Dutch Roman Catholic missionaries Roman Catholic missionaries in China 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in China Dutch sinologists Dutch people murdered abroad People murdered in China Dutch people who died in prison custody Prisoners who died in Chinese detention Dutch expatriates in China Missionary linguists Christianity in Gansu Dutch Servants of God {{Netherlands-reli-bio-stub

Biography

Veneration

See also

References