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ST JEAN-PIERRE NEEL, PRIEST AND MARTYR - 18 FEBRUARY

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN FEBRUARY

 Saints celebrated on the 18th of February

WELCOME!

SAINT JEAN-PIERRE NEEL, PRIEST AND MARTYR 

Jean Pierre Néel was beatified by Pope Pius X on May 2, 1909, and canonised by Pope John Paul II on  October 1, 2000.

A DIVINE CALLING

Born in 1832, St Jean-Pierre was a native of Sainte Catherine-sur-Rivière, Lyon. From a very young age he wanted to be a priest. He first entered the Montbrisson seminary, where he studied the humanities, then went on to the Largnetière seminary, where his missionary vocation matured and in 1855, he left the seminary and went to the Paris Foreign Missions Society, where he was ordained in 1858.

HE DEPARTED FOR CHINA

He was posted to China. The journey lasted seven months. Upon arrival, he first dedicated himself to learning the Chinese language and customs and then was entrusted with the leadership of the Kia-cha-long Christian community. His ministry lasted four years. 

HE WAS ARRESTED FOR BEING A CATHOLIC PRIEST

In 1862, he was captured in the home of a Christian whom he had baptised; he was tied by the hair to the tail of a horse and dragged to the town of Kay-Tcheu, where the mandarin resided. 

A LUMINOUS GLOBE LANDED ON THE MARTYR

He ignored his status as a French citizen. He ordered him to be stripped naked and tied, again, to the tail of a horse, which dragged him amid the mockery of the people. Finally, he was decapitated on the outskirts of town. At the moment of his beheading, a luminous globe landed on the martyr, causing great stupor to those present. This is how the Lord wanted to reward his generosity.

Saints Martin Wu Xuesheng, catechist, John Zhang Tianshen, neophyte, and John Chen Xianheng suffered martyrdom with him.

Sources: http://nouvl.evangelisation.free.fr/jean_pierre_neel.htm - https://fr.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Pierre_N%C3%A9el -https://www.auvergnerhonealpes-tourisme.com/en/fiches/chapelle-saint-jean-pierre-neel/

PRAYER:

Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that we who know how courageously your holy martyr Jean-Pierre confessed the faith, may experience his goodness as he intercedes for us with you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.


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