Saint Francis Ferdinand de Capillas

Memorial

• 15 January
• 28 September (as one of the Martyrs of China)
• 6 November (as one of the Dominicans Martyrs of the Far East)

Profile

Joined the Dominicans in Valladolid, Spain. Ordained in Manila, Philippines in 1631. Missionary and parish priest in Cagayan, Philippines. Missionary to China for several years. He made so many converts in Fu-kien that local officials arrested him as a spy. Accused of espionage, political intrigue, witchcraft, disregarding ancestor worship and anything else they could think of, and then tortured; he converted several of his jailers to Christianity. Considered the proto-martyr of the Martyrs of China.

Born

• 11 August 1607 in Baquerín de Campos, Palencia, Old Castile, Spain

Died

• beheaded on 15 January 1648 in Fu’an, Fujian, China

Venerated

• 2 August 1908 by Pope Pius X (decree of martyrdom)

Beatified

• 2 May 1909 by Pope Pius X

Canonized

• 1 October 2000 by Pope John Paul II

Additional Information

• Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate
• Heiligen 3s
• Katherine Rabenstein
• Kirken i Norge
• Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints

MLA Citation

• “Saint Francis Ferdinand de Capillas“. Saints.SQPN.com. 15 January 2013. Web. 20 June 2013. <>