Saint Mary Zhao

Saint Maria Zhao (Chinese: 趙瑪利) (born 1883 in Zhaojia, Hebei, China – died July 1900, ibid.) was a saint of the Catholic Church and a martyr. Maria Zhao was born in 1883 in Zhaojia, Hebei Province. During the Boxer Rebellion, Christians in China were subjected to persecution. On July 28, 1900, Maria Zhao attempted to escape a group of pursuing insurgents by jumping into a well with her mother, Maria Zhao Guo, and her sister, Rose. They were pulled from the well and pressured to renounce their faith. Upon their refusal, they were taken to a cemetery and beheaded. Her feast day is July 9, as part of the group of 120 Chinese Martyrs. She was beatified on April 17, 1955, by Pope Pius XII as one of the companions of Léon-Ignace Mangin. She was canonized on October 1, 2000, by Pope John Paul II as one of the 120 Chinese Martyrs.