1870 - Marie-Josèphe Adam

June 21, 1870

Tianjin

Marie-Josèphe Adam was born near Verviers in Belgium in 1836. At the age of 22 she dedicated her life to being a nun. After years of study and Christian work, Marie-Josèphe gained a burden for missionary service and offered herself to the Daughters of Charity. She was sent to Tianjin in northeast China in 1864, where she was much loved for her calmness, wisdom, and generosity. She often spoke about the love of God and encouraged the other nuns and Chinese women to cultivate a simple lifestyle centred on glorifying Christ.

Marie-Josèphe’s focus on the inner life did not mean she was slow to vigorously engage in the work she was called to. The Sisters rose at four o’clock each morning for prayer and meditation on God’s word, and then spent the remainder of the day running the orphanage, visiting the sick and poor, and other daily chores such as cooking and cleaning. It was said of the Belgian missionary:

“Sister Adam had the talent of pleasing everybody by her gentle, loving manner…. The sacred fire which filled her soul made her ardently desire to see our Lord known and loved by the pagans around her; and this wish made her offer fervent prayers for their conversion…. It seemed, by the great success which crowned her holy industries, that her zealous efforts were very acceptable to our Lord.”[1]

During the last two years of her life, Marie-Josèphe helped teach the Bible to Chinese women and children. The women trusted Marie-Josèphe and often confided in her. In the months leading up to the summer of 1870, rumours that the nuns were killing Chinese children and using their eyes and body parts for medicine spread throughout Tianjin like wildfire. On June 21st the rumours spilled over into violence and Marie-Josèphe was one of ten European nuns hacked to death by an angry mob. One account said:

“All were massacred almost simultaneously, and very quickly; some by lance thrusts, some by the knife, and others by blows of axes…. We do not know if she was one of those exposed to the public gaze or not, as the wounds received by the sisters made them unrecognisable.”[2]

Marie-Josèphe Adam “was struck by a lance in the region of the heart…she had her hands joined in prayer on her chest and if thanking her assassins.”[3] She was just 34-years-old at the time.

1. Herbert, The First Martyrs of the Holy Childhood, 23.
2. Herbert, The First Martyrs of the Holy Childhood, 329.
3. Herbert, The First Martyrs of the Holy Childhood, 330.