Hubrecht, Alphonse, The Martyrs of Tientsin. An appalling Massacre (21 June 1870).docx

The author, a missionary in China, reviews contemporary documents about the Tientsin Massacre. An historical essay on religious liberty in China serves as an introduction. Claude Chevrier\u27s early life and ministry in China and Mongolia opens the presentation. A sketch of the Vincentian mission in Mongolia follows. The Holy Childhood association, a charitable work of the Holy See, was established in Tientsin, and the Daughters of Charity directed it; mistrust of it by the local population grew. Chevrier\u27s mission work in and around Tientsin follows. He focused on a demonic presence among the people. Simultaneously, a reactionary party developed out of anger against foreigners. Kidnapping of children was widespread but linked to the mission. An explosion of anger led to the massacres of the missionaries and the Sisters (21 June 1870), and the destruction of their properties. Transcriptions of contemporary documents follow in an appendix