Saint Francis Ferdinand de Capillas

Francis Fernández (or Ferdinand) de Capillas (15 August 1607 – 15 January 1648) was a Spanish Dominican friar who went as a missionary to Asia. He died in China as a martyr. He was canonized by Pope John Paul II on 1 October 2000, as one of the 120 Martyrs of China. De Capillas is honored by the Holy See as the protomartyr among the missionaries in China, and is considered the glory and pride of the Dominican Order. De Capillas was born in Baquerín de Campos, Palencia, Spain, on 14 August 1607. At the age of 17 he entered the Order of Preachers, receiving the religious habit in the Dominican Priory of St. Paul in Valladolid. While still a deacon he was sent by his Order to do missionary work in the Philippines, landing in Manila during February 1631. Shortly after his arrival he was ordained as a priest. De Capillas remained there for the next decade, working alongside his fellow friars. His own field of labor was the district of Tuao, Cagayan Valley, on the island of Luzon. De Capillas considered that time spent in the Philippines as a period of preparation for a mission to China. At the Provincial Chapter held by the friars of the Order in Manila in 1641, he was given permission to transfer to the Order's mission there, soon transferring to that island, along with a friend, Francisco Díez. He was one of the last Spanish missionaries in Taiwan before they were ousted from the island by the Dutch later that same year. The two friars arrived in Fujian, mainland China, in March 1642, where they joined a fellow Dominican who had survived an earlier period of persecution. They then engaged in evangelization among the Chinese people of the region, especially in the cities of Fogan (Fu'an) and Ting-Moyang Ten. They were so successful that they were able to establish a community of the Third Order of Saint Dominic. On 4 November 1644, there was a huge change of fortune for the mission. That day, his friend Francisco Diez died of natural causes.