1960 - Agnes Shi Xianzhi

December 28, 1960

Baihu Prison, Anhui

Agnes Shi Xianzhi.

Shi Xianzhi was born on June 6, 1913, in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province. She was a descendant of Shi Gefa—a famous minister of the court during the later years of the Ming Dynasty, and her father was the manager of an electric light bulb factory in Bengbu, Anhui Province. When she was old enough, Shi Xianzhi was sent to the Chongzheng Girls’ School, a Catholic facility established by the Ursuline Sisters. She was impressed by the deep piety and selflessness of the missionaries, who had come to China for the sole purpose of spreading the gospel through their good deeds. At the age of 15 Shi was baptized and given the name Agnes.

During her high school years, Agnes’ father arranged for her to marry a young man from the wealthy Cui family of Zhenjiang. Such betrothals without the consent of the parties involved were commonplace in China at the time. Her father wrote a letter to his daughter, ordering her to return to Yangzhou to make wedding plans. This threw her life into turmoil, for she had already made a firm commitment in her heart to dedicate her entire life to God by becoming a nun. But to go against the express wishes of her father was a grave offense with serious consequences. After much prayer she decided God’s service would take first place in her life, even if it meant disobeying her father. When Agnes told her father of her decision, fear of the loss of reputation to the Shi family name caused him to beg his daughter on his knees to change her mind and consent to the marriage. When even this failed to alter her plans,

“he was so furious that he announced his decision to disown her outright. But to avoid the reproaches of the bridegroom’s family as well as those of society at large, he ordered his servants to dig a grave and erect a headstone stating that Shi Xianzhi had died of a sudden illness.”[1]

In 1937 Agnes Shi Xianzhi and her friend Sister Fang boarded a mail steamboat to Europe, where they entered the novitiate at the Mother House in Parma, Italy. She made her vows in March 1940, and soon after returned to China. At the conclusion of World War Two she was named the headmistress of the Cin Xin Girls’ School in Xuzhou, where she remained until 1951 when the school was taken over by the Communists. At this time most of the foreign missionaries were expelled from China. Before their departure, all the sisters were summoned to the chapel of the Bengbu Convent, where the leadership of the movement was handed over from foreign to Chinese control. All the gathered participants sang the hymn “Come, Holy Spirit,” and then Agnes was appointed Mother Superior of the Ursuline Order in China. Many tears flowed as the Chinese sisters said goodbye to their Italian colleagues.

The years following the departure of the missionaries proved relatively calm. Agnes Shi Xianzhi was able to continue serving the Lord until February 15, 1958, when her convent was searched, and all her personal possessions confiscated. The front door of the house was sealed and, with handcuffs firmly placed around her wrists, Shi was taken to the Public Safety Department of Hefei City. Long interrogations ensued, but Shi had predetermined not to answer any of the questions asked of her, preferring to follow the example of Jesus in front of his accusers. She was sentenced to five years of hard labour at the Baihu Farm Settlement (prison labour camp) in Anhui Province. The now 45-year-old nun could not endure the miserable conditions at the labour camp. The farm covered a large tract of land, with between 50,000 to 60,000 prisoners cramped into the facility, separated into 12 divisions of six teams each. In Agnes’ team were more than 30 Catholics, but the guards made sure the prisoners didn’t speak to one another during the times of manual labour. No medical care was provided in the labour camp. Each prisoner was simply required to fend for themselves. For food they searched for wild grass or vegetables, even resorting to boiling tree bark in a bid to fend off their all-consuming hunger pains. Despite their malnourishment, each prisoner was required to perform back-breaking labour from morning to evening, seven days per week.

Before her imprisonment Agnes had been diagnosed with a heart ailment, but under the awful conditions her condition deteriorated. She suffered several heart attacks during 1959 and 1960, which necessitated her being supported by several pillows in order to rest, as she could not sleep lying down. On December 28, 1960, she suffered another heart attack and suddenly passed into the presence of God. Her family was not notified of her death until the spring of the following year. Agnes Shi Xianzhi was fondly remembered as a kind-hearted person, whose firm commitment to Jesus Christ was a shining example to all who came into contact with her. A fellow prisoner, He Meiyu, was led to Christ by Agnes Shi Xianzhi. She later said that the martyr had told her:

“I live on the verge of death. To live one more day is to approach the grave nearer by one day. During the course of my life, I walk step by step, coming closer to death, with only the breath of life to divide life from death. What of life! What of death! To live is to live for Christ so that death comes as a blessing. This meeting with God is the highest ideal of our human existence.”[2]