1966 - Agnes Liang Deren

October 1966

Guangdong

Five sisters of the Daughters of Charity in 1931.

St. Vincent de Paul founded the Daughters of Charity in 1633. Unlike some other Catholic convents, the sisters were not confined to indoor work, but were encouraged to actively engage in visiting the poor and sick, and helping the elderly and orphans. The first group of Daughters of Charity missionaries to China arrived in 1848. By the time the Communists seized power there were more than 400 Daughters of Charity working throughout China. The foreigners were all expelled from the country in the early 1950s, leaving more than 200 Chinese sisters behind. They were subjected to cruel and severe persecution.

Liang Deren was born into a pious Catholic family in Guangdong Province. She believed in Christ at an early age and was baptized under the name Agnes. As a young girl she was a model student. After joining the Daughters of Charity, Liang was assigned to serve as the superintendent of a hospital and also as Principal of the nursing school. It was noted,

“She filled many positions but she remained tirelessly on duty, full of love and charity and always kind. As for the sick who were very poor, she would always accept them as hospital patients free of any charge. When the sick were on the point of dying, she would always earnestly advise them to know the Lord…. She was kindness and patience personified in her treatment of young novices, for she did her best to foster in them the desire to serve God through personal holiness and many good works.”[1]

The missionary Mother Superior who ran the hospital was expelled from China in 1953. The Communists requested Agnes Liang Deren to attend a public rally and make accusations against the Mother Superior. Liang refused to do this and was immediately arrested and subjected to brainwashing sessions. Because she still refused to give false testimony, Liang was

“repeatedly criticized publicly, until finally the whole hospital staff was mobilized and armed with sticks, brooms and pans, they were ordered to drive this Sister out of the hospital, meanwhile yelling at her ‘Liang Deren get out!’…. [Later] she frequently exhorted the other Sisters, ‘Remain humble and patient. Forgive those who attacked us and drove us away.’”[2]

The authorities were furious that Liang had managed to rebuff all of their efforts to change her. She was arrested on November 19, 1955, and this time sentenced to life in prison. She was harassed and tortured by both the guards and other women prisoners. This cruel treatment made her seriously ill. Fearing she would die, Liang was released for a time and allowed to return home. Soon, government officials called by and told her they were organizing a meeting at which she was to deliver a speech exhorting the government’s policies and criticizing the Catholic Church. She made a speech containing no references to what they had demanded. The whole meeting ended in anticlimax. Consequently, Liang was rearrested and sent back to prison. She soon suffered from serious stomach problems but “the Cultural Revolution was launched in full force and she was prevented from going home at all. Her comment was ‘I choose to die in prison rather than to go free and be deceived and cheated.’”[3]

In October 1966 a letter was received from the prison warden, informing the Daughters of Charity that Sister Liang Deren had died.

1. September 8th Editorial Board, Twentieth Century Outstanding Women, 14.
2. September 8th Editorial Board, Twentieth Century Outstanding Women, 15.
3. September 8th Editorial Board, Twentieth Century Outstanding Women, 15.