Missionaries

Gabriele Allegra Gabriele Allegra ( zh, 雷永明, 26 December 1907 – 26 January 1976) was a Order of Friars Minor, Franciscan friar and Biblical scholar. He is best known for accomplishing the first complete translation of the Bible into the Chinese language. ...

, O.F.M. – missionary to China to translate the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

Francisco Álvares Francisco Álvares ( – 1536–1541) was a Portugal, Portuguese missionary and exploration, explorer. In 1515 he traveled to Ethiopia as part of the Portuguese embassy to emperor Lebna Dengel accompanied by returning Mateus (Ethiopia), Ethi ...

– Portuguese missionary to Ethiopia. *

Saint Amand Amandus ( 584 – 679), commonly called Saint Amand, was a bishop of Tongeren-Maastricht and one of the catholic missionaries of Flanders. He is venerated as a saint, particularly in France and Belgium. Life The chief source of details of his ...

– missionary of Flanders *

José de Anchieta José de Anchieta y Díaz de Clavijo, SJ (Joseph of Anchieta; 19 March 1534 – 9 June 1597) was a Canarian Jesuit missionary to the Portuguese colony of Brazil in the second half of the 16th century. A highly influential figure in Brazil's h ...

– Spanish missionary in Brazil *

Alexis Bachelot Alexis Bachelot, SS.CC., (born Jean-Augustin Bachelot; 22 February 1796 – 5 December 1837) was a Catholic priest best known for his tenure as the first Prefect Apostolic of the Sandwich Islands. In that role, he led the first permanent C ...

– missionary to Hawaii *

Alonzo de Barcena Alonzo de Bárcena (also called de Barzana) was a Spanish Jesuit missionary and linguist. A beatification process for him has been opened in 2016. Biography De Bárcena was of native of Baeza in Andalusia, southern Spain, born in 1528; died at ...

– missionary and linguist *

Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, SDB, commonly known as Carlos Belo or Ximenes Belo (born 3 February 1948) is an East Timorese prelate of the Catholic Church. He became a bishop in 1988 and served as the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of ...

– missionary in Mozambique *

Jean-Rémy Bessieux Jean-Rémy Bessieux (24 December 1803 – 30 April 1876), also seen as Jean-Rémi or Jean René, was the founder of the Roman Catholic mission in Gabon and the first bishop to serve there. Born in Vélieux in Montpellier, France, Bessieux had bee ...

– missionary to Gabon and its first bishop *

Giacomo Bini Giacomo Bini (23 August 1938 – 9 May 2014) was a Franciscan priest. Ordained in 1964, he worked as a missionary in Africa, and was appointed Minister General of the Order of the Friars Minor (OFM) for the period 1997–2003. He was fluent in It ...

– Franciscan missionary to

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

Libert H. Boeynaems Libert H. Boeynaems, formally Libert Hubert John Louis Boeynaems (August 18, 1857 – May 13, 1926) was a Belgian Priesthood in the Catholic Church, Catholic priest who served as the fourth vicar apostolic of the Apostolic vicariate, Vicariate ...

– missionary to Hawaii *

Luis de Bolaños Luis de Bolaños (1549? – 11 October 1629) was a Spanish Franciscan friar and missionary evangelist, initiator of the system of reductions (indigenous towns) in Paraguay and northeastern Argentina. Early life Bolaños was born in Marchena, ...

– missionary who started the

Indian Reductions Reductions (, also called ; ) were settlements established by Spanish rulers and Roman Catholic missionaries in Spanish America and the Spanish East Indies (the Philippines). In Portuguese-speaking Latin America, such reductions were also c ...

system in Paraguay * François Bourgade – one of the first Christian missionaries to Muslim North Africa *

Jean de Brébeuf Jean de Brébeuf () (25 March 1593 16 March 1649) was a French Jesuit missionary who travelled to New France (Canada) in 1625. There he worked primarily with the Huron for the rest of his life, except for a few years in France from 1629 to 1 ...

– French Jesuit martyr in Canada who wrote "

Huron Carol The "Huron Carol" (or "Twas in the Moon of Wintertime") is a Canadian Christmas hymn (Canada's oldest Christmas song), written probably in 1642 by Jean de Brébeuf, a Jesuit missionary at Sainte-Marie among the Hurons in Canada. Brébeuf wrote th ...

" *

Luis Cancer Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archai ...

– missionary in Hispañola, Central America and Florida *

Saint Daniele Comboni Daniele Comboni, MCCJ (15 March 1831 – 10 October 1881) was an Italian Catholic prelate who served as Vicar Apostolic of Central Africa from 1877 until his death in 1881. He worked in the missions in Africa and was the founder of both the Com ...

– Italian bishop and missionary to Africa *

Peter of Saint Joseph de Betancur Peter of Saint Joseph de Betancur (or Betancourt) y Gonzáles, OFB (, 21 March 1626– 25 April 1667), also called Hermano Pedro de San José Betancurt (''Brother Peter of Saint Joseph Betancur'') or more simply Peter de Betancurt, Hermano ...

– Spanish missionary in Guatemala *

Father Damien Damien De Veuster , popularly known as Father Damien or Saint Damien of Molokai ( or '; born Jozef De Veuster; 3 January 1840 – 15 April 1889), was a Catholic Church in Belgium, Belgian Catholic priest in the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts ...

– missionary to Hawaii known for working with the lepers *

Anton Docher Anton Docher (1852–1928), born Antonin Jean Baptiste Docher (pronounced Wikipedia:IPA for French, ɑ̃tɔnɛ̃ ʒɑ̃ batist dɔʃe), was a French Franciscan Roman Catholic priest, who served as a missionary to Native Americans in the Unite ...

– French missionary in New Mexico, defender of the Native Americans *

Louis William Valentine Dubourg Louis William Valentine DuBourg (; 10 January 1766 – 12 December 1833) was a French Catholic prelate and Sulpician missionary to the United States. He built up the church in the vast new Louisiana Territory as the Bishop of Louisiana and ...

– missionary to the US *

Francis Xavier Ford Francis Xavier Ford, MM (January 11, 1892 - February 21, 1952) was an American Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Kaying from 1946 until his death in 1952. He was a member of the Maryknoll Missionaries in China. Because of his torture by ...

– missionary to China, martyr and

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 ...

Joseph Freinademetz Joseph Freinademetz (; April 15, 1852 – January 28, 1908), was a Ladin Catholic priest and missionary in China. He was a member of the Society of the Divine Word. Freinademetz's sainthood cause was opened after his death in 1908, and he w ...

– nineteenth-century canonized missionary to China *

Jaime Garcia Goulart Jaime Garcia Goulart (10 January 1908 – 15 April 1997) was a Portuguese Catholic prelate and missionary in Portuguese Timor who served as the first bishop of the Diocese of Dili from 1945 to 1967. Born on the island of Pico in the Azores, he ent ...

– Portuguese missionary to Macau and East Timor *

René Goupil René Goupil, (15 May 1608 – 29 September 1642), was a French Jesuit lay missionary (, "given" or "one who offers himself") who became a lay brother of the Society of Jesus shortly before his death. He was the first of the eight North Ame ...

– French missionary to what is now Canada *

Évariste Régis Huc Évariste Régis Huc, C.M., also known as the Abbé Huc (1 August 1813 – 31 March 1860) was a French Catholic priest, Lazarite missionary, and traveller. He became famous for his accounts of Qing-era China, Mongolia (then known as "Tartary" ...

– French missionary in nineteenth century China *

Isaac Jogues Isaac Jogues (10 January 1607 – 18 October 1646) was a French missionary and martyr who traveled and worked among the Iroquois, Wyandot people, Huron, and other Native populations in North America. He was the first European to name Lake Geo ...

– French missionary to what is now Canada *

John of Montecorvino John of Montecorvino, OFM (Italian: ''Giovanni da Montecorvino''; 1247 – 1328) was an Italian Franciscan missionary, traveller and statesman, founder of the earliest Latin Catholic missions in India and China, and Archbishop of Peking. He c ...

– Franciscan missionary to China in medieval times *

Jordanus Jordanus is the Latin form of Jordan and may refer to: * Jordanus of Bristol, a saint venerated in Bristol, England * Jordan Catala (Friar Jordanus), a 14th-century French missionary and explorer * Jordanus de Nemore Jordanus de Nemore (fl. 13t ...

– Dominican missionary to India *

Peter Richard Kenrick Peter Richard Kenrick (August 17, 1806 – March 4, 1896) was an Irish Catholic priest who served as Bishop of St. Louis from 1843 to 1895. The see was made an archdiocese in 1847, when he was called as the first archbishop west of the Mississi ...

– Irish missionary to the US *

Eusebio Kino Eusebio Francisco Kino, Jesuits, SJ (, ; 10 August 1645 – 15 March 1711), often referred to as Father Kino, was an Italian Jesuit, missionary, geographer, explorer, cartographer, mathematician and astronomer born in the Prince-Bishopric of Tre ...

– pioneer Jesuit missionary and explorer to what is now Baja California, Northwest Mexico, and the southwest US * Ferdinand Konščak – Croatian Jesuit missionary to Mexico *

Fermín Lasuén Fermín or Fermin may refer to: * Fermin, Spanish saint * Fermin (name), Spanish name and surname * Fermin IV Fermin (also Firmin, from Latin ''Firminus''; Spanish ''Fermín'') was a holy man and martyr, traditionally venerated as the co- patron ...

– founder of numerous missions in Baja California * Segundo Llorente – Spanish missionary to Alaska *

Jacques Marquette Jacques Marquette, Society of Jesus, S.J. (; June 1, 1637 – May 18, 1675), sometimes known as Père Marquette or James Marquette, was a French Society of Jesus, Jesuit missionary who founded Michigan's first European settlement, Sault Ste. M ...

– missionary and explorer *

Peter Hildebrand Meienberg Peter Hildebrand Meienberg (27 November 1929 – 3 December 2021) was a Swiss Benedictine missionary who spent more than 50 years in East Africa working on refugee aid, prison reform, education, and other social determinants of health. He is know ...

– missionary to East Africa * Victor Mosele – missionary to Sierra Leone *

Saint Ninian Ninian is a Christian saint, first mentioned in the 8th century as being an early missionary among the Pictish peoples of what is now Scotland. For this reason, he is known as the Apostle to the Southern Picts, and there are numerous dedicatio ...

– missionary of Scotland *

Marcos de Niza Marcos de Niza, Order of Friars Minor, OFM (or Marco da Nizza; 25 March 1558) was a Franciscan friar and missionary from the city of Nice in the Duchy of Savoy. Marcos led the first Spanish expedition to explore what is now the American Southw ...

– French Franciscan missionary who accompanied

Francisco Vásquez de Coronado Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Meaning of the name Francisco In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed " Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comm ...

Roberto de Nobili Roberto de Nobili (1577 – 16 January 1656) was an Italian priest, a member of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), who worked as a missionary in Southern India. He used novel methods to preach Christianity, adopting many local customs of India whi ...

– Jesuit missionary in India who learned Tamil and Sanskrit *

Odoric of Pordenone Odoric of Pordenone (c. 1280–14 January 1331) was a Franciscan friar and missionary explorer from Friuli in northeast Italy. He journeyed through India, Sumatra, Java, and China, where he spent three years in the imperial capital of Khanbaliq ...

– Franciscan missionary to China in medieval times *

Juan de Padilla Juan de Padilla, OFM (1500–1542) was a Spanish Catholic priest and missionary who spent much of his life exploring North America with Francisco Vásquez de Coronado. He was killed in what would become Kansas by Native Americans in 1542 ...

– Franciscan who accompanied Coronado *

Ivan Ratkaj Ivan Ratkaj (22 May 1647 – 26 December 1683), also Ivan Rattkay, was a Croatian Jesuit missionary, explorer and cartographer. He wrote the first detailed description of the Tarahumara, a Native Mexican people. Biography Ratkaj was born in P ...

– Croatian Jesuit missionary to Mexico *

Alexander de Rhodes Alexandre de Rhodes, SJ (; 15 March 1593 – 5 November 1660), also Đắc Lộ was an Avignonese Jesuit missionary and lexicographer who had a lasting impact on Christianity in Vietnam. He wrote the ''Dictionarium Annamiticum Lusitanum et Latinu ...

– French Jesuit important to the history of Christianity in Vietnam *

Matteo Ricci Matteo Ricci (; ; 6 October 1552 – 11 May 1610) was an Italian Jesuit priest and one of the founding figures of the Jesuit China missions. He created the , a 1602 map of the world written in Chinese characters. In 2022, the Apostolic See decl ...

– Jesuit missionary in China *

Junípero Serra Saint Junípero Serra Ferrer (; ; November 24, 1713August 28, 1784), popularly known simply as Junipero Serra, was a Spanish Roman Catholic, Catholic priest and missionary of the Franciscan Order. He is credited with establishing the Francis ...

– founded the mission system of what is now the US state of California *

Mother Teresa Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu (born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, ; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa or Saint Mother Teresa, was an Albanian-Indian Catholic Church, Roman Catholic nun, founder of the Missionaries of ...

– missionary to India *

Alessandro Valignano Alessandro Valignano, S.J., sometimes Valignani (Chinese: 范禮安 ''Fàn Lǐ’ān''; February 1539 – January 20, 1606), was an Italian Jesuit priest and missionary born in Chieti, part of the Kingdom of Naples, who helped supervise the i ...

– Italian Jesuit who supervised missions in the Far East, particularly Japan *

Padre Antonio Vieira Padre means father in many Romance languages, and it may also refer to: __NOTOC__ Arts and entertainment * "Padre" (song), by Gloria Lasso, 1956; covered by Toni Arden (1958) and Elvis Presley (1973) * ''Padre'' (film), a 2016 Italian drama * ''T ...

– Portuguese Jesuit missionary to Brazil and South America, converted Indians in South America; called the Great Father of the indegian people in South America, was against the inquisition, and probably is one of the biggest converters of people to Roman Catholic faith *

Ivan Vreman Ivan Vreman (in some sources Ivan Ureman) (6 June 1583 – 22 April 1620) was a Croats, Croatian astronomer, physicist, mathematician, missionary, translator and Jesuit Catholic priest, priest. His work in the field of astronomy and mathematics ...

– Croatian Jesuit missionary to India and China *

William of Rubruck William of Rubruck (; ; ) or Guillaume de Rubrouck was a Flemish Franciscan missionary and explorer. He is best known for his travels to various parts of the Middle East and Central Asia in the 13th century, including the Mongol Empire. His accoun ...

– Franciscan missionary to the Mongols * Józef Wojaczek *

Francis Xavier Francis Xavier, Jesuits, SJ (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; ; ; ; ; ; 7 April 15063 December 1552), venerated as Saint Francis Xavier, was a Kingdom of Navarre, Navarrese cleric and missionary. He co-founded the Society of Jesus ...

– Jesuit missionary to India and Japan

References

{{reflist *List

Missionaries A missionary is a member of a 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.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Missionaries

See also

References