Jacques Berthieu
Jacques Berthieu (born November 26, 1838 in Polminhac , France , † June 8, 1896 in Ambiatibe , Madagascar ) was a missionary of the Jesuit order and is a saint of the Roman Catholic Church .
Life
Jacques Berthieu received his religious training at the seminaries of Pleaux and Saint-Flour . He was ordained a priest in 1864. Strongly influenced by the Christian concept of mission , he entered the Jesuit order in 1873 . Here he developed a strong relationship to faith in the power of the Sacred Heart ( Sacre Coeur ). In 1875 he went as a missionary to La Réunion , then to the island of Sainte Marie , part of Madagascar , where he stayed for five years to learn the national language. In 1880 he entered the main island and worked as a missionary and teacher among the Betsileos . After more than 20 years of activity, he was shot dead on June 8, 1896 in the course of the anti-colonial and anti-Christian Menalamba uprising . His body was thrown into the nearby Mananara River ; he was never found.
Three assassins were executed by the French colonial rulers. Years later one of the surviving assassins confessed before his death to Father Théophile Weber, an Alsatian who was a missionary in the same district as Jacques Berthieu; P. Weber also baptized the two other assassins.
Adoration
Pope Paul VI beatified Jacques Berthieu on October 17, 1965. On October 21, 2012 he was - together with other fellow believers - by Pope Benedict XVI. canonized . His feast day is February 4th .
literature
- Victor Sartre : Le Bienheureux Jacques Berthieu, martyr à Madagascar. Lille, 1996.
Web links
- Ankazondandy, Madagascar - photo
- Adolfo Nicolás : A New Jesuit Saint: The life and martyrdom of Jacques Berthieu in: America. The Jesuit Review. 2012.
Individual evidence
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Berthieu, Jacques |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Berthieu, Jacob |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Jesuit, missionary and blessed of the Roman Catholic Church |
DATE OF BIRTH | November 26, 1838 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Polminhac , France |
DATE OF DEATH | June 8, 1896 |
Place of death | Madagascar |