ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN JULY Saints celebrated on the 7th of July WELCOME! SAINT MARY GUO LI, WIDOW AND MARTYR Mary Guo Li, a native of Hu-jia-che, China (Hebei Province), born in 1835, was a Catholic wife and grandmother, with numerous children and grandchildren, all of whom were raised in the Catholic faith. ALL HER CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN WERE RAISED IN THE CATHOLIC FAITH In 1900 a Chinese quasi-religious faction known to history as the “Boxers” embarked upon a bloody persecution of Christians in China. Mary instructed her children and grandchildren that under no circumstances were they to deny their faith, warning two of her sons, “Remember that if you apostatise, I shall no longer be your mother!” RECITING THE ROSARY, FASTING, SPIRITUAL READING On June 29, 1900, the Boxers raided the family’s home, murdered Mary’s husband Guo Zhinfang, and torched the house. Sensing that she would soon share her husband’s fate, Mary spent the days that followed preparing herself with the...