St. John Gabriel Perboyre, C.M. China's First Canonized Saint, Part 2 The Beginning of the Trial and Torture of Father Perboyre Taken from The Life of Bl. John Gabriel Perboyre, Tr. by Mary Randolph. Background When the future Martyr came to China, a law outlawing Catholicism and or Christians promulgated by emperor Kienlung in 1794 still existed; it condemned all those who professed Christianity to death if they were Europeans, but only to exile if they were Chinese. The application of this law had already cost the Church several persecutions, the most violent of which, after that of 1805, took place in 1820 and procured for the Venerable Clet the palm of Martyrdom. For a long time, however, the Christians, particularly in Hupeh, enjoyed great tranquillity. Suddenly a persecution was again started. It began in the village of Nankiang, where they first seized some Catholicss. Among them was a young man, son of the catechist Pentingsiang, who, frightened by the threats of the soldiers and persuaded by their blandishments, miserably betrayed his brethren, told their names, their dwellings, and the places where they assembled with the Missionaries. Orders were immediately, given by the mandarin of Kuchinghien to arrest both the Missionaries and the people. A troop of soldiers, led by two commissaries of the viceroy of Uchangfu, two military mandarins, and a lower civil mandarin, directed their steps to the residence of the Missionaries at Changyuenkow, a small village of the province of Kuchinghien near the market town of Koangyntang. Father Perboyre was there with M. Baldus, a missionary on his way from Hupeh, Rev. Joseph Rizzolati, an ltalian Franciscan, and a Chinese priest, M. Wang. These met together to celebrate the octave of the Nativity and the Feast of the Holy Name of Mary. It was, in fact, on Sunday, September 15, 1839, and the Catholics of the place had come to hear Mass and assist at the other exercises of devotion which fill up the whole Sunday. The last Mass was just finished; some of the faithful were still in church with Fr. John Gabriel, M. Baldus, and Father Rizzolati. Suddenly a Chinese Catholic, named Toungtayoun, came hurriedly to tell them of the breaking out of the persecution; that the soldiers were marching to the church headed by two mandarins; and that they were only a short distance off, and that there was no time to lose: that each of them should provide for his safety by fleeing as fast as possible.  M. Baldus and Father Rizzolati made no delay in leaving, but the intrepid servant of God could not abandon the flock so dear to him; he wished to persuade himself and tried to convince others that the danger was not imminent. Nevertheless, the soldiers were heard approaching and every one fled but John Gabriel, who thought only of escaping from danger when he saw clearly that he could no longer expose himself without rashness. He then gathered together, as well as he could, the sacred articles, which he did not wish to have profaned, and left by a secret door the moment the soldiers entered the church. Furious at seeing that their prey had escaped, they seized the most precious things they found in the church and in the Missionary's house. They burnt the papers and books with so much ferocity that everything soon became engulfed in the flames, and one of the mandarins barely escaped death. However, the servant of God had succeeded in hiding himself in a forest of bamboo a short distance from the church. Night having come, he left his retreat to go to the house of a catechist, Ly-Tsou-Hoa, where he took some food he greatly needed after the fatigues and excitement of the day. His host had Fr. Perboyre's beard cut off so he could be less easily recognized as an European, and brought him three hundred paces beyond, to pass the night at the house of his cousin, the father of Ly-Tsou-Kouei, the catechist. Not to compromise his hosts, the next day, the saintly fugitive left before dawn to hide himself in a neighboring forest, accompanied by his servant, Thomas Sin-Ly-Siang, another Catholic, Wang-Kouan-King and Ly-Tse-Ming, father of the catechist Ly-Tsou-Hoa. This was a secure retreat, and he certainly would have escaped the pursuers if Providence had not, to render him, doubtless, more like his Divine Model, permitted that he, too, should be betrayed by one of his own. The neophyte, Kioung-Lao-San, a new Judas, through fear or avarice, revealed to the soldiers for a reward of thirty ounces of silver, the place where John Gabriel was hidden. They immediately surrounded the forest and like wild beasts ran in all directions to find their prey. Two of them at last found the servant of God and his three companions, who seeing the superiority of their numbers,  flight being impossible, wished at first to repulse the aggressors by force. Thomas Sin-Ly-Siang immediately proposed it to his master, but the latter, remembering that Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemani would not permit St. Peter to use his sword, forbade also his devoted and brave servant to use violence. Thomas obeyed, and with the exception of Ly-Tse-Ming, who succeeded in taking flight, all the other Catholicss hidden in this forest fell into the hands of the enemy. The ruffians immediately rallied around the holy missionary, threw themselves upon him, seized him by his queue, and dragged him to the summit of the mountain. There they stripped off all his clothing and left him in exchange only some wretched rags; tied his hands behind his back, dealt him three heavy blows on the shoulders with a sabre, and brought him, loaded with chains, to the market of Koangyntang. John Gabriel bore patiently and with courage all this bad treatment, not allowing the least complaint or cry of pain to escape him. Arrived at Koangyntang, he appeared before the civil mandarin, Liou, of the town of Kuchinghien, who was there awaiting the prisoner. "It was pitiful to see him," says an eye witness, "with no clothes but a shirt and a pair of ragged pants, a chain around his neck, and his hands tied behind his back, surrounded by soldiers, who pulled him by the ears and hair to make him look at the mandarin, before whom he was kneeling." "Are you a priest of the Catholic religion?" the mandarin asked him. He replied immediately without fearing the new torments, or even the death that this response might bring upon him: "Yes; I am a priest and a preacher of that religion." "Do you wish to renounce your faith?" "Never will I renounce the faith of Jesus Christ." "What are the motives that led you to come and propagate your religion in this country?" He did not reply to this question. The mandarin, full of anger, had him separated from his companions in captivity, loaded with chains, and brought, with hands and feet tied, to the house of a pagan named Heou, whose proverbial cruelty had obtained for him the surname of San-Pin-Hou; that is, three times a tiger; in his shop John Gabriel must pass the night. Eight men, chosen from the richest of the place and, consequently, less susceptible of being bribed to allow the prisoner's escape, were charged to watch near him and carefully guard him till the next day. On the morning of Wednesday, September 17, orders were given the soldiers to lead the prisoner to the town of Kuchinghien, a short distance from Koangyntang. But the venerable servant of God, broken down by the cruel treatment to which he had been subjected, and weakened by hunger and fatigue, was unable to make the journey on foot. Already the sad procession began its march. The valiant confessor of Jesus Christ stopped in a public place and was surrounded by a spiteful crowd, who loaded him with all kinds of injuries and outrages, when a pagan, named Lien-Kioun-Lin, felt himself moved with compassion at the sight. He drew near, asked and obtained permission to have the prisoner brought upon a litter, whose bearers he paid and which he himself followed to town. This good action did not go without its reward. The venerable servant of God, deeply touched, affectionately thanked his benefactor and later, after his Martyrdom he would appear to him and then later obtained for him the grace of holy Baptism just before that man's death. In  Kuchinghien greater torments awaited him:  he had to appear first before a military mandarin, who asked who he was and what motive urged him to penetrate into the Chinese empire. "I am a European," he replied, "who came here to propagate the Catholic religion and to exhort men to fly from evil and to do good." "What route have you followed to come into this country?" He replied that he came from Kuching by Nanchan. "In what Christian houses have you lodged?" He kept silence. "In what places have you preached? How many people have you sought to attract to your religion? Have all those who have heard your preaching embraced the religion you taught them? Are there other Catholic priests in China?" In response to all these questions he said, "I speak only for myself." "What are the advantages you hope to derive from preaching the Christian doctrine?" "I exhort men to know and serve God, so that by the practice of good works they will strive to acquire eternal life, and avoid the fate of those who do evil and who will suffer eternal punishment." This was the second interrogation to which the Missionary had to submit to. The mandarin, little touched by this solemn profession of faith, replied that it was false and that John Gabriel had no other motive than to delude the citizens of the Celestial Empire.  But the servant of God replied to this inquiry only by silence. He deigned no other reply to the proposition which was made to him to deny his faith, contenting himself with a negative shake of the head, to indicate the horror with which it inspired him and his refusal of the proposition. The mandarin, irritated by his silence, had him beaten by the soldiers, struck a hundred blows with a bamboo rod, and put into prison. But there in repose was allowed this poor body, so tormented and enfeebled; they inflicted upon him new sufferings, which the generous confessor bore with sweetness and admirable patience. The next day, being brought to the tribunal of the civil mandarin, he was subjected to a new interrogation. "Are you a European? What is your occupation?" "I am a European, and my employment is the preaching of the Catholic doctrine." "Since this religion is received in Europe, why have you come to preach it in China?" "This religion is allowed to be preached everywhere, and this is why I have come to preach it in China." "What are the means which you use to spread it?" "I exhort men to the practice of good works and to serve God, Who nourishes and preserves us, Who is the source of all good: and Who after death will give us in reward, the eternal glory of Paradise." Among the goods taken from the Missionaries were different objects used for religious worship. The mandarin had them brought to the tribunal, and taking successively the chalice, the missal, the sacred vestments, all of which were used in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, he asked the servant of God what use he made of them. The latter replied that they were used to offer sacrifice in honor of God. "Cease relating your follies; is it not rather to have yourself adored by a crowd of Christians who surround you?" "I propose no other end to myself than to give to God, with the Christians, the homages that are His due." "Why does not the God Whom you serve hinder you from falling into the hands of your enemies, and why has He let these calamities come upon you?" "God leaves us upon earth a prey to the greatest calamities; but these evils do not last forever, and He will recompense us through all eternity for what we suffer for Him." "If you do not change your sentiments, I will make you endure severe punishment." "I pay no attention to the sufferings of the body, because I think only of eternal salvation." "I see you will not abandon your faith, and that it will be vain for me to try to force you to renounce it." "You may be well assured that I will never renounce my faith." The mandarin, showing him the vessel with holy oils, asked him if it did not contain water extracted from the eyes torn from the sick. [It is said that this prejudice against Catholicss is the one most commonly believed by all Chinese pagans.] "Never," he replied, "have I committed so great a crime." At the same time with Fr. Perboyre the mandarin summoned before him a Catholic maiden, named Anna Kao, taken in the same persecution. Upon this occasion he grossly insulted the servant of God, who, to his ignoble questions, contented himself with responding that the Missionaries and virgins vowed------and preserved chastity, that they lived separate, engaged in their respective duties, and that the virgins were not employed in the service of the Missionaries, who were served by men who accompanied them in their travels. At last the mandarin tried to make him deny his faith by putting a Crucifix on the ground and ordering him to tread it under foot. But the courageous priest replied, "Even in death I will refuse to deny my faith and to tread the Crucifix under foot." As the mandarin added, "If you do not abjure it, I will put you to death," he replied. "Very well, I will be happy to die for the faith." Immediately he received upon his cheeks by order of the mandarin forty blows with a strong leather strap, and his face was horribly bruised and disfigured. He was brought back to prison, where he was again delivered to the soldiers.   This was the third time the holy priest professed his faith generously before the judges, but the cruelty to which he was subjected could draw from him no sign, no word that could be taken for apostasy. Would it not seem that God, being satisfied by these pledges of his love, would already recompense them and that the noble servant of God, drawing near his blessed death, the object so ardently desired, would await it with calm joy? No; greater combats became his share here below, because a more glorious crown was reserved for him. After several interrogations to which he was subjected before the civil and military mandarins of Kuchinghien and which were accompanied by the most abominable tortures, the servant of God was brought by the soldiers to Siangyangfu, situated about fourteen miles distant. The voyage was made by water upon the river Hankiang, and was for the venerable servant of God the occasion of new sufferings. Thrown into the bark with his hands and feet tied, he was separated from the other Catholics; whilst to them were given the food and drink they needed, both were constantly refused him during all this long trip. Arrived at last at Siangyangfu, he remained several days confined in a horrible prison, where he was spared neither insults nor tortures. Upon the appointed day he was brought first before the tribunal of the governor of the town, who made him submit to a new interrogation, and who put to him the same question as to his character of European and Catholic missionary and as to the motive that brought him to China, and he received the same response. The mandarin then proposed to him to tread the Crucifix under foot, but the servant of God replied simply and with firmness, "Never will I do it." Seeing that his threats were useless, the governor thought he could more easily obtain his end by reasonings, like those sometimes heard in Europe from the pretended savants of the modern school. "What will you gain by adoring your God?" "The salvation of my soul," replied the confessor; "and Heaven, where I hope to go after my death." "Fool!" replied the mandarin, "you have never seen Paradise." Then turning towards the other Christian captives, "I will teach you "what Paradise is and what Hell is. To be crowned in this life with riches and honors; that is Paradise; to be, on the contrary, like you are today, condemned to lead a poor, suffering, and miserable life, that is Hell." He arose from his seat and had the venerable servant of God sent back to prison. Ten days after he was brought before the first mandarin of the same town, who treated him with great moderation and contented himself with asking how long it was since his arrival in China, an insidious question, to which John Gabriel Perboyre knew how to respond so as not to compromise in any way the ininterests of religion. But at the fiscal tribunal, before which he was brought in accordance with the laws of the country, a more furious tempest than any with which he had yet been tried awaited him, where he was cruelly tortured in body and soul, in his faith, as a Catholic, and his dignity, as a man. Tao-Tai, president of the tribunal and supreme judge of the city, consulting only his cruelty, ordered him beaten with a strong leather strap. Then he ordered that John Gabriel be hung from a beam by his two thumbs firmly tied together. Then he compelled him to remain nearly four hours amid most cruel suffering, kneeling with bare limbs upon iron chains. The venerable servant of God bore these frightful tortures not only with fortitude but with a serene countenance and without making the least complaint. The tyrant nevertheless reserved for his soul still more cruel torments than those with which he afflicted his body. He wished, but in vain, to make him abjure his faith by obliging him to tread the Cross under foot. Then he asked him what was the occupation of the religeuses, or Catholic virgins, and if they were employed in the service of the priest. The missionary replied that their profession was to serve God and observe chastity; that they neyer were allowed near the priests, who were served by the men who accompanied them on their journeys. The mandarin, who did not wish to believe this declaration, subjected the holy prisoner to new trials, which became a new triumph for the faith. A month had passed amid these different interrogations, which so well displayed the heroic patience of the servant of God, when they thought it proper to send him to Uchangfu, the metropolis of the province of Hupeh, to hear there the final judgment in his case. Uchangfu Shortly after the captive of Jesus Christ was brought to Uchangfu, the metropolis of the province, about fifty leagues distant. He started with about a dozen Catholics who remained firm in the faith. They all had irons on their feet, hands, and neck. Besides, a rod of iron about three spans in length, fixed at the top of the collar, descended upon the breast; the arms as well as the hands were attached perpendicularly to this rod. It may be imagined how painful this journey was to the servant of God, who was already suffering so much. On their arrival in Uchangfu, the prisoners were brought before an under mandarin who took their names; then they were taken to another horrible prison, where the worst criminals were kept. It would be difficult to form an idea of all John Gabriel endured here. Among other cruelties, the soldiers would squeeze so tightly by the arms and shoulders that blood actually spurted out. He and the others were tormented by the multitude of criminals, familiar with all kinds of crimes, who used to reserve in their words or actions, whose mouths were only opened to vomit forth the most improper words, accompanied by curses, imprecations, and blasphemies. The prisoners had to submit every evening to an extremely painful operation. They were fastened firmly by the feet in a sort of wooden vice, fixed to the wall. This caused them the most cruel sufferings besides the cold and their inability to move. The consequence of this treatment was that John Gabriel lost part of his foot through putrefaction and one of his fingers withered entirely away. He passed at least nine months in this purgatory, and he bore all these sufferings with admirable patience, and succeeded in softening his keepers and winning their affection. They wished to dispense him from the punishment just mentioned, but the other prisoners, when they perceived that his feet were not put in the shackles, murmured against the indulgence of the keepers. The servant of God, to avoid all pretexts for complaint, asked to be treated like the others, saying that he bore this torture willingly for the love of God. Consequently he had to bear this punishment until death. The town of Uchangfu was the scene of the combats and victories of the intrepid soldier of Jesus Christ. It was here that his love for God was put to the most terrible proofs; it was here also that he bore away the palm of Martyrdom. If the powers of darkness prepared themselves to inflict upon him the most painful assaults, the heavenly choirs prepared abundant aid to help him to triumph in this long and painful struggle. His first trial took place before the criminal tribunal. The supreme mandarin of justice took the lead, saying to him, "Since you are a European, why have you left your country and come to China?" "I have undertaken this voyage to spread the Catholic religion in this country." "You could do that in Europe without coming to China, where entrance is forbidden by the emperor and where ,the people, who are instructed in a great and noble religion, can not embrace Christianity." The confessor of the faith did not reply to this. The mandarin began to press him to abjure his religion, but, seeing that he firmly refused, he wished to try if he could compel him by suffering; so he ordered John Gabriel to be forced to kneel on iron chains and broken pottery, where he was left for several hours. While he was in this position, a Catholic having been taken to prison in the same town passed before him and asked for sacramental absolution. Father Perboyre gave it to him in the presence of the whole assembly and thus filled the office of merciful judge before the iniquitous magistrates, who treated him with so great injustice and barbarity. This is how it occurred: A Catholic named Stanislas, an exemplary man, whose virtues gained for him the affection even of the pagan citizens, was arrested shortly after the servant of God; the Chinese themselves wept at seeing so worthy a man in the power of his enemies. While in prison, he endured all kinds of injuries from the soldiers; irons were put on his hands, feet, and neck, and he was placed near a disgusting dung-hill. The mandarin often summoned him before his tribunal and wished to make him tread upon a Cruciifix, but Stanislas remained immovable. After being solicited and tortured during a month and a half, they brought him back to Siangyangfu. The mandarin having asked if it was true that the Christian women were delivered up to corruption, he answered with firmness: "Not only does the Catholic religion proscribe impure vices, but it is even forbidden to name them." This answer confounded the mandarin, who, in revenge, ordered thirty blows to be given Stanislas. Dragged then from town to town, from tribunal to tribunal, from prison to prison, this intrepid man made a journey of nearly a hundred leagues on foot, suffering from hunger, thirst, cold, rain, and the insults and cruelty of the soldiers and prison-keepers. His companion was another Catholic confessor, who was blind. They were chained together, Stanislas walking first, leading the blind man. As the latter stumbled and made frequent falls and as the same chain was around Stanislas' neck, each time the blind man tripped he gave his companion so violent a jolt that the flesh of his neck was torn off and they often fell to the ground together. The soldiers had the cruelty to reproach the poor blind man for his careless walking, but Stanislas bore everything with unalterable patience; he uttered not a word of complaint, but consoled and exhorted him, saying: "We are sinners, let us accept this as a salutary penance." Stanislas was then brought to Uchangfu. He appeared several times before the mandarin, who had him tortured time and again, and always uselessly as far as making him abjure his religion was concerned. However, sufferings had so weakened him that he could not get to the tribunal without crawling upon his hands and feet. It was on this occasion that passing before the servant of God, he asked him to give him absolution to help him to prepare for death, which he felt was not far distant. Three days after he expired in prison from the effects of the injuries he had endured. The servant of God fulfilled this ministry of reconciliation for another Catholic, who asked for absolution in the presence of the judges. Shortly after the last trial of Blessed Perboyre the same mandarin summoned him again, and insisted on knowing what made him come to China. "I have not come here attracted by the thirst for riches, honors, applause, or enjoyment, but with the sole desire of procuring the glory of God and the salvation of souls." "But now you are loaded with chains and oppressed with torments; no doubt you repent of having had this design.""I am far from repenting of it, nay more, I regard it as a great honor to bear these chains and to be afflicted with all sorts of tortures." "But have you seen the God Whom you with so great efforts seek to worship?" asked the mandarin, who regarded as folly the reply so full of wisdom, which he had just heard. "The Supreme Master of the world," said the confessor of the faith, "is a Being Who has no beginning and, being spiritual, can not be seen by the eyes of the body. Besides, we learn from our holy writings that He exists, and all the truths contained in our holy books are more certain than anything that can be seen by the eyes of the body." "You certainly act like a madman," replied the mandarin, "in giving so great authority to your books and allowing yourself to be deceived by these fancies. You would be worthy of compassion if you had not deceived others and done injustice to the people to whom you have taught these follies." New Torments After having appeared twice before the criminal tribunal, where he gloriously confessed the faith, the servant of God was brought before the civil tribunal. The president having put to him questions similar to those reported above, the confessor gave the same answers, renewing his profession of faith . . . Till now he had suffered by the order of the different mandarins before whom he had appeared; but he had not yet been presented to the viceroy of Uchangfu, who put his patience to still greater tests and prepared for him still greater triumphs. This man, ferocious as a tiger, had gained a reputation for cruelty throughout the empire. When criminals were brought before him, he was transported with fury and treated them with a barbarity that would scarcely be believed. It is said that sometimes, carried away by passion, he forgot his rank and dignity; darting trom the tribunal, he would throw himself upon the accused and with his own hands tear out his eyes. But when Catholics were concerned in the case, his fury knew no bounds; he bore them an infernal hatred and had sworn to destroy their religion in the province. The servant of God was brought before this vicious man, declared himself a priest and confessed his faith with a calm, firm, and generous dignity. While he made this profession, there was brought to the tribunal a picture of the Blessed Virgin, very well painted, which had been taken when the Missionaries house was pillaged. Now, among the calumnies which the Chinese pagans raised against the Christians was one which attributed to them the custom of tearing out the eyes of the sick to extract the colors, which were used, they said, to make beautiful pictures. The viceroy accused the servant of God of often being guilty of this crime, and to punish him for having replied that he had never been guilty of that atrocity, he had him suspended by the hair and left for severat hours in this position. It would be impossible to describe the refinements of barbarity which the viceroy invented to weary the patience of the Missionary and forced him to renounce Jesus Christ and inform on the priests and Catholics whom he knew. In one of these horrible trials he was attached by his hands to a sort of cross, and he hung thus from nine in the morning till the evening. On another occasion the judge had engraved with iron points upon his patient's face these words, "Tchoun-Sie-Kiao," which means "Propagator of an abominable sect." Sometimes the executioners bound him to a large machine, which raised him in the air by means of ropes and pulleys, and let him fall with his whole weight, so that his body was bruised and his limbs dislocated. Sometimes while he was kneeling on iron chains almost suspended by the hair from a post, his arms crossed and violently stretched and tied to a piece of wood, they placed upon the calves of his legs a beam, at the extremities of which two men balanced themselves, thereby condemning the sufferer to the most frightful tortures. To vary these trials they made him sit upon a chair so elevated that his feet could not touch the ground; they fixed him there by cords tightly tied around his thighs. Then they hung upon his feet enormous stones which occasioned him intolerable pain in the knees. At other times the seat to which he was attached permitted him to rest his feet on the ground; but large stones pushed with difficulty under the soles of his feet caused him pains no less excruciating. During this long series of tortures the servant of God lost none of his calmness and serenity; not only was he never heard to utter a cry or complaint, but all saw shining in his face the joy with which his heart was filled. When he came from these barbarous trials, all his bones were broken and his strength exhausted; the soldiers had to carry him back to prison, where new trials awaited him. The frightful torments of which we have just spoken were followed by a month's rest; the viceroy wished, probably, to allow him to gather new strength so he could exercise his insatiable rage upon him for a longer time. The month having expired, the servant of God appeared before the criminal tribunal. While subjected to these tortures, his persecutor ordered him to tell by what route he had penetrated into the interior of China; in what houses he had stopped; what persons had favored his entrance; but Father Perboyre kept silence, knowing well that he was not obliged to answer, and, besides, the least revelation exposed the missionaries and the faithful to more cruel outrages. The judge, "irritated against him, ordered fifteen blows to be given him on the face with the thick leather ferule before mentioned, and as he thought it was our Martyr who had strengthened the faith of several who remained invincible amid the tortures which were employed to draw them into apostasy, he asked him what mysterious drink he had given these Christians who would not renounce their religion. The servant of God replied that he had given them no beverage and this reply earned him ten more blows with the ferule upon the face. Among the prisoners who were a butt for the cruelty of the mandarins was a maiden named Anna Kao, who had long edified Chinese Catholics by her virtues. She was arrested in her house while at prayer. She confessed the faith with a firmness and constancy which filled the faithful with admiration, and astonished the pagans and mandarins themselves. The soldiers who seized her having proposed to her to tread on the Cross with threats of death if she refused, she replied without hesitation that she preferred to die. Then they brought her to the tribunal to make her appear before the mandarin. The latter forced her to kneel on iron chains; two soldiers, holding swords to her neck to frighten her, commanded her to tread upon the Cross. But the intrepid virgin replied: "Cut off my head if you wish; never will I renounce my religion." They frequently urged her to renounce the faith, but as all these solicitations were baffled by her firmness, she was condemned to exile and sent into Seuchuen. Much more could I provide of the excruciating torments given to the Saint, some of which included more blasphemies, but let us proceed now to the account of his death: The Martyrdom of St. John Gabriel Perboyre His executioners, obliged to declare themselves vanquished, wished not to continue a struggle which would be  a "disgrace" to them. For four months they had employed against their victim all the resources of cruelty at their disposal. Nothing had been forgotten which could weary his patience or overcome his heroic firmness. In the town of Uchangfu alone, he was subjected to more than twenty hearings at which he received a thousand insults and injuries, impossible to relate in detail. Around the middle of January, 1840, his executioners grew tired ot persecuting him; so the viceroy ordered him to be strangled, but as this order could not be executed until ratified by the emperor, John Gabriel Perboyre remained eight months in prison. We know in what a state he was brought there, and it is astonishing to find that he survived all his tortures in this place, his body having been torn in shreds and his bones laid bare. Suffering had taken away the  power of speech, and he had lie down, as he was unable to sit or stand. While the mandarins were torturing him, no Catholic could come to see him, perhaps hoping, that deprived of all succor, they could more easily overcome his constancy. But after the last interrogatory they relaxed this severe regulation. One of the first who came to see the prisoner was a Chinese Lazarist, M. Yang. What a heartrending spectacle met his eyes! It was like the sorrow of Job's friends when they saw him stretched on a dunghill, covered with ulcers, so pitiful was the state in which he found the servant of God. When the Chinese priest saw him lying upon the ground half dead, his limbs stained with dry blood, he was deeply affected and poured forth abundant tears; it was with difficulty that he calmed himself so as to speak to him. The servant of God desired to go to Confession, but was restrained by the presence of the two officers of the mandarin, who stood constantly beside him for fear that his friends might poison him. One of the Catholics who accompanied the priest respectfully invited them to step a little aside, so that the Missionaries could talk more freely; they kindly complied, and Father Perboyre made his Confession. When his visitors were dismissed, John Gabriel with difficulty raised his voice to recommend himself to their prayers; one of them told him not to speak so loud on account of the pagan soldiers present. One of the officers said to him: "Pray, have nothing to fear;" and another added: "Rest assured that we will take good care of him." When leaving the prison, the Missionary, M.. Yang, asked one of the officers to take some money to buy everything needed for Father Perboyre, but the latter refused it, saying one of the Martyr's friends had already given him two hundred sapeques of which he had spent nothing, because the patient was in too much suffering; the doctor had ordered him to give him only a little rice water and salted herbs; but that he would be permitted in a few days to have whatever he wished. This physician, though a pagan, was much impressed with the gentleness and other virtues of the sick man, showing much interest and taking particular care of him. After this he was often visited by the faithful and, among others, by a catechist named Fong, who did him many services. They brought to his prison, clothes, a mattress, and bed covering; thereby diminishing his sufferings. There was, however, one solace which the servant of God desired above all others, and that was Holy Communion; but it was impossible to obtain it for him; as the soldiers had orders to taste everything that was offered him. He was obliged to endure this privation, which was not the least of his pains, the whole time he remained in prison. He profited by the visit of the Chinese Lazarist, to send a brief message to his confreres. His letter was in Latin and stained with blood from his hands. This is what he wrote: "The circumstances of the time and place do not permit me to give you long details of my condition; you know them sufficiently well from other sources. After being arrested in Kuching, I was treated well enough the whole time I remained there, though I was subjected to two examinations. In Siangyangfu I had to submit to four. In one of them I remained half a day upon my knees on iron chains and suspended on the machine hangtse. In Uchangfu I underwent more than twenty hearings, in nearly all of which I suffered different tortures because I would not tell the mandarins what they desired to know. If I had spoken, I would have started a general persecution throughout the empire; what I suffered at Siangyangfu was directly for the cause of religion. At Uchangfu I received one hundred and ten strokes with the pantse because I would not tread on the Crucifix. Later I shall tell you other details. Of the twenty Catholics who were taken and tried with me two-thirds publicly apostatized." We have already said that the prison to which Father Perboyre was sent was filled with malefacfors and criminals loaded with guilt. These unfortunate prisoners, witnessing every day the holy life of the servant of God, soon learned to appreciate him; feelings until then unknown sprang up in their hardened hearts. Admiring his virtues, they proclaimed that he had a right to every respect and consideration; all compassionated him and said that he merited much better treatment. As to the Martyr, far from considering his condition worthy of compassion, he could only congratulate himself upon his good fortune.  His days and nights were passed in sufferings, it is true, but they filled him with joy, because they made him conformable to his Divine Model. He had nothing to expect but death, yet this death was the object of his desire, because it put him in the possession of the Sovereign Good. Finally,  on September 11, an imperial courier brought the edict ratifying the death sentence. According to the custom, as soon as the edict of death is known, the execution is speedily undertaken. So John Gabriel was taken from prison on that day, and like his Divine Master, was led to the scene of execution with robbers who were also to be executed. He walked in barefeet, with his hands tied behind hikm, bearing a long rod at the end of which was written the sentence of death pronounced against him. "Et imposuerunt super caput ejus causam ipsius scriptam." "They put over his head his cause written." (Matt. xxvii, 37.) The servant of God had recovered his strength and, more astonishing still, his wounds had disappeared. His face was beautiful and resplendent, his flesh had become as fresh and clear as a child's; everyone exclaimed at the miracle when seeing him in his state. As for the Martyr, he pursued his way with courage and joy towards the place of triumph after the example of our Savior. "Proposito sibi gaudio sustinuit crucem." "Who having joy set before Him, endured the Cross." (Heb: xii, 2.) According to another Chinese custom, criminals are led to execution with haste and at a running pace. This quick march, joined to the noise of cymbals, gives the executions for capital offenses a terrible character which frightens the Chinese. Father Perboyre after a long journey arrived at last at the place where he must consummate his sacrifice. The pagans, warned by the noise of cymbals, ran there in crowds; but as they knew the example of gentleness and patience which the confessor had given throughout his ordeal, they murmured beeause there was put to death a man so benevolent and so kind, saying that he equaled the gods in goodness. They began with the seven prisoners who had been condemned to death, and during their execution the servant of God knelt down to pray. The pagans were impressed by his suppliant, recollected attitude, and a Catholic who, bathed in tears, stood nearby, heard voices saying, "Look at that European kneeling and praying." At last the Martyr was attached to a gibbet in the form of a cross. His hands were thrust behind him and tied to a crosspiece of wood; both his feet were bent backwards, so that he was suspended in a kneeling posture and raised about four or five spans above the ground. His death was more painful than that of the others, who were promptly decapitated. The viceroy ordered for the Catholic priest a more cruel kind of execution; one that would last longer. The confessor of the faith was to be strangled; after the first vigorous tightening of the rope, the executioner slackened it, so as to give the Martyr time to come to himself and realize his sufferings; then tightened it again, and stopped. It was the third jerk that proved fatal; but, as the body still retained some signs of life, a soldier approached and, having given him a severe kick in the stomach, our Martyr gave up his soul to God. It was noon on Friday; hedied on the same day as our Lord; he had tried during life to imitate Him by the practice of His virtues, Our Lord gave him a greater resemblance to Himself in His passion and death. The body of the servant of God became immediately after his deatha subject of admiration and astonishment. All who saw him remarked that he was not disfigured; that his limbs preserved their suppleness and that he had none of the marks that are usually found upon bodies of criminals who have suffered death from strangulation; these are horrible to see, their features are distorted, their cheeks livid, the blood running, from their mouths, convulsively opened, their tongues hanging out, and their eyes staring from their sockets. No one could look at this spectacle without being filled with horror. As for Saint John Gabriel, his face was not changed; his eyes were modestly lowered towards the ground as in life; his mouth closed; his complexion ruddy; his body, in a word, had, undergone no arteration and bore no trace of suffering or death; so that several who saw him did not think he was dead and advised that he should be exposed some days to the heat of the sun so as to be assured of his death. An idolater, whom Catholic relatives had brought to the Martyrdom, after examining the body and perceiving its flexibility was so struck by this miracle that he desired to embrace the faith and had himself received among the catechumens. The body of the Martyr remained a day and a night upon the instrument of execution. The next day it was taken dwn and placed it in a coffin and brought to a mountain called Honchen. Meanwhile the catechist Fong went in great haste to the harbor of Pinhumen, so as to consult with the other Catholicss to obtain from the soldiers the Martyr's clothes and the coffin which contained his body. These measures were so well arranged that everything succeeded according to their desire; by means of a sum of money they induced them to deliver to the clothes of the missionary, the instruments of his execution, and the bier on which were his precious remains. They furnished the soldiers with a coffin filled with earth in place of the one they received, and while they seemed to bury the body of the Martyr, the  faithful bore it to the chapel, a short distance off. They clothed him in rich, magnificent vestments, made the preceding night, and celebrated the Office of the Church for these occasions; then they interned him on the slope of the Red mountain, beside Venerable Clet, the Lazarist Missionary who had been Martyred twenty years before, and whose glorious death Father Perboyre had wanted to emulate. God soon punished those who had pursued His servant. The mandarin of Kuching, who had him arrested, was deposed from office shortly afterwards and hanged himself in despair. The viceroy who was so cruel to him was condemned to exile on account,of his cruelties and the evils he had caused in his province. It was even with difficulty that he escaped the.vengeance of the people, who, thinking this.puni.shment too light, wished to have him torn to pieces and to treat him as he had treated others.  When the servant of God was brought from Chayuenkow to Kuching, a pagan, touched with compassion at the sight of his sufferings and the difficulties he had in walking, had him brought in a litter, at his own expense, to Kuching. This good action soon received its reward. The old man, falling sick, was soon at death's door. While his life was despaired of and when he himself was absorbed in sad, gloomy thoughts, the Saint appeared to him, in a dream, with two ladders, one red, on which he was leaning, and the other white, on which he invited the sick man to come to him, saying: "You suffer extremely, do you not? Mount where I am by this white ladder and you will be happy." Then the sick man tried to mount, but the demons opposed his efforts. He remembered that Catholics used the invocation of the holy names of Jesus and Mary to chase away the spirits of darkness; he invoked these holy names, and in an instant the vision disappeared, and he felt himself entirely cured. A wakening immediately, he hastened to send for the catechists, had himself instructed in the truths of religion, and induced his family to follow his example. Having had the happiness of being Baptized shortly after, he died in three days with the most edifying sentiments of piety. In a letter written by a Lazarist Missionary, we find the following details, which are no less remarkable. "When the servant of God was Martyred, a large Cross, luminous, and very distinctly formed, appeared in the heavens. It was seen by a considerable number of the faithful, living in different Christian sections very distant from one another. Many pagans were witnesses of this miracle, and some of them exclaimed: 'There is the sign the Christians adore; I renounce idols; I wish to serve the Master of Heaven.' They then embraced Christianity, Monsignor Clauzette administering Baptism to them. When the prelate learned the facts just related, he did not give much credit to them. But afterwards, impressed by the number and importance of the testimonies, he made formal inquiry, which resulted in the information that a Cross, large, luminous, and well formed, had appeared in the heavens; that it was seen at the same time, of the same form, the same size, and in the same part of the heavens by many witnesses, Catholics and pagans; that these witnesses lived in districts very distant from one another and that they could have had no communication together. Monsignor questioned many Catholics who had the Martyr, and they all declared that they had always regarded him as a great Saint." Continued forward. 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