Famous missionary Matteo Ricci on his way to sainthood

Pope Francis formally agreed that Servant of God Matteo Ricci, defender of the culture of dialogue, “lived the virtues of Christianity to a heroic degree.”

With the support of the Pope, the famous 16th-century Italian Jesuit missionary to China is now on his way to sainthood.

Last December, the Vatican announced that Francis had appointed the Commissioner of the Saints’ Cause of the Vatican Decastery to issue a proclamation recognizing Ricci’s “heroic virtues.”

In order for the pope to declare him blessed (the next step on the path to sainthood), the person presenting the reasons for canonization (i.e., the postulator) must provide evidence of miracles through the intervention of the lich. is needed.

At the Vatican convention, it would take a second miracle for him to be declared a saint.

brief biography

Matteo Ricci, a professed Jesuit priest and known for being an inspiration to Pope Francis, was born in Italy in 1552. He died in Beijing. [now Beijing]China, 1610.

Last May, Francis described Rich as a “champion” of the “culture of dialogue.”

The Vatican’s announcement of Ricci’s ascension to sainthood is significant for the Catholic Church in China and its 12 million followers.

There, the Jesuit missionary is noted not only for his actions and writings, but also for being “a man of encounters who went beyond being a foreigner and became a citizen of the world.”

Rich began his missionary work in 1582 in Macao, then a Portuguese colony. He then moved to mainland China and adopted the Chinese lifestyle and language. He died in China 27 years later.

He made history in 1601 as the first European to enter the Forbidden City in Beijing. When he died, he became the first Westerner to be buried in the capital’s Imperial Grounds by special order of the emperor.

Known to the Chinese as “Li Ma Dou,” Lich brought the emperor academic achievements in optics, astronomy, music, geography, geometry, and many other fields.

He subsequently converted several prominent Chinese officials to Christianity, including some whose saintly reasons are being considered.Rich also collaborated with Chinese scholars in translating classics like Euclid element Translate into Chinese and translate important Confucian texts into Latin.

still important to China

The Chinese perceive Lich as a bridge between East and West. They memorialized him at the Millennium Monument in Beijing. Marco Polo is the only Westerner with such honor.

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