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| Saint Augustine Tchao, Pray for us ! |
⛪ Other Names :
• Augustin Rong Zhao • Augustinus Zhao • Augustine Zhao Rong
⛪ Memorial :
• 28 September as one of the Martyrs of China
⛪ Born :
• c.1746 at Wuchuan, Guizhou, China
⛪ Died :
• 27 January 1815 due to poor conditions in prison at Chengdu, Sichuan, China
St. Augustine Zhao Rong was born in Kweichou in China in 1746 and at twenty-six, as a prison guard of Wu-chuan, was called to guard the Christians imprisoned during the persecution that broke out in 1772. Among these was a priest who did not hesitate even in prison. to explain the truths of the Catholic faith to his flock. He was so persuasive with his words that the jailer, listening to them carefully, found himself almost involuntarily converted to Christianity.
He then received the baptism and confirmation on August 28, assuming the name of Augustine in honor of the saint of the day. Postosi at the service of the missionaries received the task of baptizing the dying children because of the famine and after completing the necessary theological studies, he was ordained priest in 1781. He distinguished himself in particular as a preacher, because his words moved the listeners to tears with the account of the passion of Jesus. Father Agostino was finally sent to Yunnan to convert the aborigines of that mountainous region, but during the persecution of 1815 he was recognized as a Christian, arrested and subjected to torture until he died in prison on an unspecified day of spring .
First priest of Chinese nationality of which martyrdom was attested, Agostino Zhao Rong was canonized by Pope John Paul II on 1 October 2000, during the Great Jubilee, with 119 other martyrs on Chinese soil, ndigeni and missionaries. Among the latter also some Italians: Giovanni da Triora, Antonino Fantosati, Cesidio Giacomantonio, Giuseppe Maria Gambaro, Gregorio Grassi, Francesco Fogolla (native of the Diocese of Pontremoli), Elia Facchini, Alberico Crescitelli, Luigi Versiglia, Callisto Caravario and two Franciscan Missionary nuns of Maria (Marianna Giuliani and Clelia Nanetti). Sant'Agostino is singularly celebrated on March 21st, the first day of spring, while on July 9th the common liturgical memorial of the 120 Chinese martyrs of which Zhao Rong appears as leader.