François-Isidore Gagelin
Encyclopedia
François-Isidore Gagelin (10 May 1799-17 October 1833) was a French missionary of the Paris Foreign Missions Society
in Vietnam
. He died a martyr
, and became the first French martyr of the 19th century in Vietnam. He was born in Montperreux
, Doubs
. He left for Vietnam in 1821. In 1826, when Emperor Minh Mạng
ordered all missionaries to gather at the capital Huế
, he fled to the south to Dong Nai in Cochinchina
. He was captured once and released.
On 6 January 1833, a new edict of prohibition was promulgated by Minh Mạng and immediately put in application. Churches were destroyed, and missionaries had to live in hiding. Gagelin surrendered in August 1833, and he was brought to Huế. He was killed by strangulation on 17 October 1833.
He was beatified in 1900, and canonized in 1988 by Pope John Paul II.
Paris Foreign Missions Society
The Society of Foreign Missions of Paris is a Roman Catholic missionary organization. It is not a religious order, but an organization of secular priests and lay persons dedicated to missionary work in foreign lands....
in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
. He died a martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
, and became the first French martyr of the 19th century in Vietnam. He was born in Montperreux
Montperreux
Montperreux is a commune in the Doubs department in the Franche-Comté region in eastern France.-Geography:Montperreux lies south of Pontarlier in the Jura mountains.-Population:-External links:*...
, Doubs
Doubs
Doubs is a department the Franche-Comté region of eastern France named after the Doubs River.-History:As early as the 13th century, inhabitants of the northern two-thirds of Doubs spoke the Franc-Comtois language, a dialect of Langue d'Oïl. Residents of the southern third of Doubs spoke a dialect...
. He left for Vietnam in 1821. In 1826, when Emperor Minh Mạng
Minh Mang
Minh Mạng was the second emperor of the Nguyễn Dynasty of Vietnam, reigning from 14 February 1820 until 20 January 1841. He was a younger son of Emperor Gia Long, whose eldest son, Crown Prince Canh, had died in 1801...
ordered all missionaries to gather at the capital Huế
Hue
Hue is one of the main properties of a color, defined technically , as "the degree to which a stimulus can be describedas similar to or different from stimuli that are described as red, green, blue, and yellow,"...
, he fled to the south to Dong Nai in Cochinchina
Cochinchina
Cochinchina is a region encompassing the southern third of Vietnam whose principal city is Saigon. It was a French colony from 1862 to 1954. The later state of South Vietnam was created in 1954 by combining Cochinchina with southern Annam. In Vietnamese, the region is called Nam Bộ...
. He was captured once and released.
On 6 January 1833, a new edict of prohibition was promulgated by Minh Mạng and immediately put in application. Churches were destroyed, and missionaries had to live in hiding. Gagelin surrendered in August 1833, and he was brought to Huế. He was killed by strangulation on 17 October 1833.
He was beatified in 1900, and canonized in 1988 by Pope John Paul II.