1870 - Marie-Angélique Lenu

June 21, 1870

Tianjin

Born in Paris in 1832, Marie-Angélique Lenu grew up in a wealthy family. After leaving the seminary she entered the convent at Nieul-l’Espoir. For the next few years, she laboured for God in various ways, but the delicate upbringing she had experienced did not endear her to robust health. Despite her frequent illnesses, Marie-Angélique applied to become a foreign missionary, and was sent to China in 1864. After arriving at Shanghai, Lenu made her way to Ningbo in Zhejiang Province where she worked in an orphanage. Her initial experiences were somewhat similar to those of Marie-Aimée Tillet. She went through a trial of

“intense disgust with the country and its customs. Her courage failed, and [she was] called to join the work in Beijing…. Sister Lenu made vigorous efforts to overcome her repugnance, and at last got used to the Chinese, and became very fond of the children who were entrusted to her, who under her care made great progress in every way.”[1]

Just when she was starting to feel comfortable with her life in Beijing, Lenu was transferred to Tianjin in December 1869, to help the short-staffed orphanage and medical work run by the Daughters of Charity. Only about six months later she became a martyr for the cause of Christ. On May 30th, just three weeks before her death, Marie-Angélique Lenu wrote a letter to a colleague in China, which revealed the kind of inner character the young Frenchwoman possessed:

“As you have heard, I have been at Tianjin for the last six months. It was an act of the divine Will to which I submitted myself with love…. This reminds me that I am only a passenger on this earth, and strengthens my desire to return quickly to our heavenly home.”[2]

Her desire was fulfilled in the afternoon of June 21, 1870. She tried to hide from the mob under the veranda of the orphanage, but was discovered and cut to death with a sword. Marie-Angélique Lenu was 39-years-old.