1930 - Luigi Versigilia & Callisto Caravario

February 25, 1930

Litaoqui, Guangdong

Bishop Luigi Versiglia and Callisto Caravario, martyred together in 1930. [CRBC].

As the 1930s dawned, Communist insurgents were multiplying across many parts of China, and the attacks against Christians were growing bolder. The Civil War had led to an almost complete breakdown of law and order, resulting in hordes of gangs and bandits roaming the countryside, plundering and pillaging as they wished. These were terrible times for the missionary community in China.

Luigi Versiglia, a 56-year-old Catholic Bishop, and Callisto Caravario, a 26-year-old priest, were members of the Salesian Congregation. Versiglia had been at Parva, Italy on June 5, 1873. Ordained in 1895, he was the novice master in Torino for ten years, before leading the first group of Salesian missionaries to China. In 1921 he was ordained a Bishop. Caravario was born at Cuorgne Torino on June 8, 1903. He was sent to China in 1924 at the tender age of 21, and shepherd God’s flock wholeheartedly, winning the respect of the people.

On February 25, 1930, Versiglia and Caravario set out from their mission station for the town of Linzhou in Guangdong Province. The journey in a small Chinese junk along a tributary of the North River was through pirate-infested territory, but the pair was travelling in a group with two other missionaries, two Chinese catechists, some Catholic school teachers with their students, and the pastor of the Linzhou Parish. They all believed that by increasing their numbers they faced less danger of being attacked by pirates. Just after noon, as they neared the village of Litaoqui, suddenly

“a voice barked from the bank, ‘Halt, or we fire.’ From bushes lining the bank, 20 ruffians jumped into the open and trained their rifles on the little boat. Bishop Versiglia had no choice. ‘Push ashore,’ he says to the boys. ‘They will only shoot us down, if we refuse.’”[1]

The pirates demanded a payment of $500. While the two missionaries were trying to reason with their attackers, the thugs noticed the pretty schoolgirls on board and, with lust-filled eyes, tried to carry them away to do whatever they pleased with them. The bishop firmly stated, “Not in my lifetime, you won’t. These three women are schoolteachers of the Catholic Mission. Hands off!”[2]

As the evil men tried to board the boat, one girl jumped into the river to try to drown herself but the attackers yanked her out by the hair. The other two clung to the arms of the bishop. One of the bandits “picked up a thick, heavy stick and began beating the bishop’s arms to release his hold on the girls…. A bandit smashed his stick over the bishop’s head, knocking him senseless. The others pounced on Father Caravario and pinned him to the ground.”[3] Another account said,

“The missionaries intervened, using polite and kind words to persuade the pirates. It was in vain; the pirates tried to board the junk and the missionaries blocked their path. Flying into a rage, they beat the bishop and priest with their rifles so that they fell bleeding to the ground. The girls were dragged ashore, and the two missionaries were pulled away from their companions into the forest. Ten minutes later, gunfire could be clearly heard.”[4]

The experienced Bishop Luigi Versiglia and his young coworker Callisto Caravario were martyred as they tried to protect the lives and dignity of the young women. When their bodies were later recovered from a clump of bamboo, they were found to have been shot in the head. Salesian priests came from all over south China to attend the funeral of their fallen compatriots. As the guests filed into the graveyard they were proud of their two fallen coworkers and their countenances were cheerful. The local people stared in disbelief, as this display of faith and victorious joy was the direct opposite of the hopelessness displayed at Chinese funerals. After the coffins were lowered into the ground the Provincial of the Salesian Fathers said:

“We loved our bishop and our young priest. Our hearts are heavy at their loss. The manner of their death was cruel. Our hearts are anguished at the recollection. But we preach the religion of Him who died on the Cross, forgiving those who put Him to death, and like Him, we have only one word to say. We forgive.”[5]

1. Raymond Kerrison, Bishop Walsh of Maryknoll (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1962), 200.
2. Kerrison, Bishop Walsh of Maryknoll, 200.
3. Kerrison, Bishop Walsh of Maryknoll, 201.
4. Chinese Regional Bishops’ Conference, The Newly Canonized Martyr-Saints of China (Taiwan: Chinese Regional Bishops’ Conference, September 8th Editorial Board, 2000), 82.
5. Kerrison, Bishop Walsh of Maryknoll, 203.