1944 - Lucien Boiteux

June 17, 1944

Sichuan

Lucien Pierre Boiteux was born in Surmont, France, on February 8, 1902. One of his uncles was a missionary in the South Pacific, and although he didn’t personally know his nephew, he often wrote to him and encouraged him to give his life to God and consider serving as a foreign missionary. Boiteux listened to his uncle and entered the seminary of the Missions Etrangères de Paris in September 1921. After nearly five years of study, he was ordained a priest and left for Sichuan Province, where he joined the mission at Ningyuan (now Xichang) in the Daliangshan (‘Great Cold Mountains’). A few months later Boiteux relocated a short distance to the town of Hexi, and then to a mountainous area on the banks of the Yalong River. Several times a year

“he traversed the dangerous mountains by impossible paths, in order to visit the scattered Christians, family by family, encouraging them to persevere and ministering to them. He also befriended a number of pagans, some of whom converted to the faith. In the mountains there were also many Nosu bandits, who from time to time made incursions into the plains, plundering houses and carrying away people into slavery.”[1]

On one occasion Boiteux succeeded in securing the release of a Catholic family who had been captured by a powerful Nosu warlord. Boiteux knew the risks involved, and the warlord afterwards held a powerful hatred against the missionary. A price was put on Boiteux’s head and every time he went outdoors carried the chance it would be his last. On several occasions he was ambushed and robbed by bandits. The mission leaders tried to protect Boiteux by transferring him to Dechang, further away from danger. The new location gave Boiteux a fresh lease of life. He preached every day and was involved in the orphanage work.

In 1935 the Communist army passed through Dechang on their way north during the Long March. Boiteux, along with the nuns and orphans fled into the mountains, hoping to return once the army had moved on. When Boiteux returned to Dechang he found his house had been completely plundered and he was left with nothing except the clothes he was wearing. After a time in France in 1938 (his only break in 18 years of missionary work), Boiteux returned to Sichuan and threw himself into the work again. On one occasion he was requested to make a brief trip to his old mission to take care of some business. On June 17, 1944, bandits seized Boiteux and his horses, plundering his luggage and stabbing the 42-year-old Frenchman to death.

1. My translation of the Biographical Note of Lucien Boiteux in the Archives des Missions Etrangères de Paris, China Biographies and Obituaries, 1900-1999.