Siméon-François Berneux (14 May 1814 – 8 March 1866) was a French Catholic missionary to Asia, 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 ...

who was canonized as a

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

. Berneux was executed in the anti-Christian purges at Saenamteo,

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, Korea, in 1866. His death provoked the French campaign against Korea the same year, which led to Korea reinforcing its ongoing policy of isolationism.

Biography

Siméon-François Berneux was born in

Château-du-Loir Château-du-Loir (; literally 'Château of the Loir') is a former commune in the Sarthe department in the region of Pays de la Loire in north-western France. On 1 October 2016, it was merged into the new commune Montval-sur-Loir.

on 14 May 1814 and entered the Seminary of Foreign Missions in 1831 at the age of seventeen. In 1843 he entered the Seminary of

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

to complete his studies. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

on 20 May 1837 and appointed as Professor of Theology at the Foreign Missions Seminary in October 1838. Berneux departed from

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

on 12 February 1840 and arrived at Anyer in Java on 31 May. He spent the summer in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

before sailing to

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

. In January 1841 he sailed to

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 ...

. In Vietnam he was imprisoned and taken to

Huế Huế (formerly Thừa Thiên Huế province) is the southernmost coastal Municipalities of Vietnam, city in the North Central Coast region, the Central Vietnam, Central of Vietnam, approximately in the center of the country. It borders Quảng ...

for trial, where he arrived on 28 May. In 1842 he was convicted of proselytism and sentenced to death, a sentence which was indefinitely postponed. He was released on 12 March 1843 and set sail to return to France. However, at the Isle of Bourbon (now

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

), he received permission to return to Macao. He was appointed to begin missions in Manchuria, and arrived in the

Liaodong Peninsula The Liaodong or Liaotung Peninsula ( zh, s=辽东半岛, t=遼東半島, p=Liáodōng Bàndǎo) is a peninsula in southern Liaoning province in Northeast China, and makes up the southwestern coastal half of the Liaodong region. It is located ...

on 15 March 1844. Berneux was consecrated as bishop on 27 December 1854, appointed

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Capsus and

Apostolic Vicar Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles *Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Churc ...

of Corea. The previous Apostolic Vicar of Korea, Jean-Joseph-Jean-Baptiste Ferréol, had been consecrated in 1843 and ministered in Korea from 1845 until his death in 1853. Berneux sailed from Shanghai to Korea in January 1856 on a Chinese ship, arriving in Korean waters on 15 March. They met a vessel owned by Korean Christians on

Good Friday Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday, or Friday of the Passion of the Lord, is a solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary (Golgotha). It is observed during ...

and were landed near Seoul. Entering the city on foot, Berneux and his company were taken to the house of Marie-Nicolas-Antoine Daveluy, a French priest who had come to Korea along with Bishop Ferréol. Berneux set up a residence in

, living and working secretly. In 1866 Berneux was arrested and put on trial. In February 1866 he was repeatedly interrogated under torture, and sentenced to death. He was executed by decapitation on 8 March 1866 at Saenamteo outside Seoul. Daveluy served as Apostolic Vicar for a short time until he was also executed on 30 March. The deaths of Berneux and other Catholic missionaries in Korea was followed by a French punitive expedition which reinforced the Korean policy of isolationism.

Canonization

Berneux's spiritual writings were approved by theologians on 13 May 1914, and his cause was formally opened on 13 November 1918, granting him the title

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 ...

. He was beatified by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

on 6 October 1968 and canonized on 6 May 1984 by

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 ...

. His feast day is 7 March, and he is also venerated along with the rest of the 103

Korean Martyrs The Korean Martyrs were the victims of religious persecution against Catholics during the 19th century in Korea. Among them are 103 Saints and 124 Blesseds officially recognized by the Catholic Church. Overview There were 5 main sets of pers ...

on 20 September. His relics were brought to Berlin in 2001 and are held in the Institut St. Philipp Neri in Berlin, Germany.

References

Bibliography

''The Lives of the 103 Martyr Saints of Korea 37: Saint Siméon François Berneux, Bishop (1814-1866)''
, Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea Newsletter No. 51 (Summer 2005). *Frédéric Pichon (1872)
''The Life of Monseigneur Berneux, Bishop of Capse, Vicar-Apostolic of Corea''
Burns, Oates, and Company, London. * LECLEIR, Stefaan, Siméon-François Berneux (1814-1866), Missionsbischof und Märtyrer in Korea, Böhlau, Köln, 2000. *

External links

Profiles of Saints

Archives of the Paris Foreign Missions Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berneux 1814 births 1866 deaths 19th-century French Roman Catholic priests Korean Roman Catholic priests Korean Roman Catholic saints French Roman Catholic saints Paris Foreign Missions Society missionaries Roman Catholic archbishops of Seoul 19th-century Christian saints 19th-century Roman Catholic martyrs 19th-century executions by Korea French people executed abroad Roman Catholic missionaries in Korea Roman Catholic missionaries in Vietnam Roman Catholic missionaries in the Philippines Roman Catholic missionaries in China French expatriates in Korea French expatriates in Vietnam French expatriates in the Philippines French missionaries in China People executed by Korea by decapitation Roman Catholic bishops of Seoul