St. Augustine Zhao Rong was a Chinese soldier who went through a series of events that made him the name and the face of a sizable group of fellow countrymen who had encountered the Lord. Zhao Rong was assigned to the company of guards sent to escort Bishop John Gabriel Taurin Dufresse, a French missionary, on the journey to his execution in Beijing. He was struck by the Bishop's demeanor and tolerance in the face of misery and impending death. Zhao Rong was deeply moved by the faith demonstrated by the missionary Bishop, leading him to convert to Catholicism and receive baptism. Drawn to a deeper religious life, he then joined a missionary seminary and became the first Chinese-born diocesan priest. As a result of new imperial decrees outlawing the practice of the Christian faith in 1814, Father Augustine was arrested. He was offered the opportunity to renounce the Catholic faith, but refused. After horrific torture, he died of his injuries in prison. St. Augustine Zhao Rong was the first native priest to be martyred.
St. Augustine Zhao Rong, you gave your life out of love for Christ; pray that the message of the Gospel will continue to be preached and that many hearts will respond with generosity and faith.
Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,
Most High Servant,
Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love (Blessed and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)
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