Father Pascal Angelicus Melotto, OFM, popularly known as Father Mei Zhanchun was a Roman Catholic priest of the

Franciscan Order The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

. The Father Mei Memorial Catholic Hospital in

Hankou Hankou, alternately romanized as Hankow (), was one of the three towns (the other two were Wuchang and Hanyang) merged to become modern-day Wuhan city, the capital of the Hubei province, China. It stands north of the Han and Yangtze Rivers w ...

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 erected in his memory. He is one of the earliest Martyrs in China.

Early life and priesthood

Father Mei was born in

Lonigo Lonigo is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, northern Italy, its population counts around 16,400 inhabitants. In its ''frazione'' of Bagnolo is the Villa Pisani (Bagnolo), Villa Pisani, a Renaissance patrician villa designed ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in year 1864. He joined the Franciscan order in the year 1880.

Persecution and death in China

Mei arrived in China in 1902 and adopted the Chinese name Father Mei Zhanchun. He was kidnapped in 1923 and a large ransom was demanded. He was moved many times between

Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...

and

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

provinces while in custody and died after three months because one of the kidnappers shot him in the stomach with a poisoned bullet. Shortly before dying, he said that, ''“I am happy to die for the Chinese. I lived in China for the Chinese and now I am happy to die for them.''” His remains were transferred to a memorial structure called the Mei Pavilion.

Erection of Memorial

After the involvement of the Italian government and Vatican, a hospital by the name Father Mei Memorial Catholic hospital was erected as his memorial in Hankou.

Demolition of Memorial

In 1952, all the missionaries were expelled from China and the hospital was renamed from Father Mei Memorial Catholic Hospital to Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital. In 2008, the hospital was destroyed and moved to another location.

References

{{Reflist 1864 births 1920s missing person cases 1923 deaths Chinese murder victims Christian martyrs Formerly missing people Franciscan missionaries Italian people murdered abroad Italian Roman Catholic missionaries Kidnapped Chinese people Kidnapped Italian people Missing person cases in China People murdered in China People from Lonigo Roman Catholic missionaries in China

Early life and priesthood

Persecution and death in China

Erection of Memorial

Demolition of Memorial

See also

References