1919 - Capistran Goette

August 1, 1919

Shaanxi

Capistran Goette.

John Capistran was the third of the Goette brothers to become a Franciscan priest and missionary to China. Born on March 2, 1859, Capistran was ordained a priest at St. Louis in 1882 and departed the United States for China two years later, via Europe. At Rome, Goette and his travelling companion Edmund Roediger sat a theology examination. Because France was at war with Annam (part of today’s Vietnam) at the time, the missionary duo found it difficult to secure passage on any ship travelling to the Orient.

They finally reached their destination in southern Hunan Province on December 9, 1884. Four years later Goette was joined in the work by Francis Engbring, the first Native American missionary to China.[1]

After five years of teaching theology to Chinese seminary students in southern Hunan, the hot and humid climate started to affect Goette’s health. He was transferred to the cooler and clearer climate of Shaanxi Province in north China where his brother Athanasius was engaged in missionary work. In 1895 Capistran Goette was cruelly attacked by bandits and almost put to death. His brother described the incident:

“In October 1895, while taking a walk, not far from his mission Beiyingli, he was attacked by a number of pagans and maltreated in a cruel manner. The mob threw him on the ground, and, using his cue as a rope, dragged him for the distance of almost a mile to the little town of Dazuang. On the way they gave him countless kicks and blows. When the pagans noticed him whispering prayers, they took handfuls of dust from the road and stuffed them into his mouth; he almost died of suffocation.”[2]

At Dazuang the mob tied Goette by his cue (long braided hair) to the ‘criminal’s post’ in the middle of the town. This post was common in all towns and cities in China at the time, and was where accused criminals were mocked and abused by the public while they awaited punishment. His hair was excruciatingly tied to the pole in such a manner that only the tips of his toes could touch the ground, causing the missionary unbearable pain and anguish. A gun was produced and aimed at the defenceless priest, but it failed to discharge correctly otherwise it would have ended his life. Enraged by their misfiring weapon, the mob began to beat Goette with clubs and the handles of their swords. One large fellow

“hit him violently over the head with an iron rod, so that Capistran became unconscious. Disjointing of the fingers and other tortures, however, soon restored him to his senses. Then they untied him and were on the point of piercing him to death like one slaughters a hog. But one of the authorities of the village, fearing the consequences, hindered the outrage. Again, using his cue as a rope, the ruffians dragged Capistran to a well, intending to drown him. They were on the point of shoving the missionary into the well, when he succeeded in grasping with his hand a little tree growing at the edge of the well. Though they struck his hand with the flat blade of knives and with sticks, he held fast to it. At the moment when he again lost consciousness, help arrived. The pagans fled, and Capistran was carried back to his mission more dead than alive.”[3]

For the next three days Goette walked in the shadow of the valley of death. He fell in and out of consciousness, and his injuries were so severe that his blood-soaked clothing had to be carefully cut into tiny pieces in order to be removed from his body. Forty-seven serious wounds were counted.

The 36-year-old Capistran Goette slowly recovered from his excruciating attack, helped by the healing touch of the Living God. In many ways the American was never the same again. A painful headache afflicted him regularly for the remainder of his life. Despite these hindrances, Goette continued to labour unselfishly for the salvation of souls in China. He rejected the temptation to move back to his homeland after the vicious attack, believing that as long as he had breath in his body he would be better off fulfilling the call that God had placed on his life.

Through the on-going pain of his injuries, Capistran Goette continued until August 1, 1919, when he finally succumbed to his injuries and died in Shaanxi Province. Of his 60 years, 35 were devoted to missionary work in China. The years after the attack, when God graciously prolonged his life, were the most fruitful of Goette’s career. During that time five churches were constructed, and thousands of men, women and children were introduced to the gospel for the first time.

1. An excellent account of Engbring’s life is found in Habig, Pioneering in China.
2. Habig, Pioneering in China, 77.
3. Habig, Pioneering in China, 77-78.