1870 - Maria Andreoni

June 21, 1870

Tianjin

Maria Clorinde Andreoni was once described as “one of those souls whose candour and innocence ravish the heart of God and gain every possible favour from heaven.”[1] Born in a small village near Florence, Italy, in 1836, Maria was raised in a Christian family whose main occupation was the making of straw hats. She was much loved by the other villagers, who called Maria “the angel of the village.” Between the ages of seven and nine Maria stayed with her aunt in a remote district that had no church. Her aunt remembered that during one Easter the little girl was so absorbed in prayer that she thought she had fainted, but that “when she came to herself her face had such an angelic radiance that she would only compare her to a fresh-blown rose.”[2]

When she was 13 Maria suffered two serious illnesses, the second of which was so grave that her mother feared she would die. Maria propped herself up in bed and consoled her weeping mother, saying that God had shown her it was not time for her to die, and that before her death she would earn a crown.

Maria was a strikingly attractive young woman, and she received many marriage proposals from prospective suitors. Maria always laughed them off, telling her family that each young man was “too ugly” for her. The vivacious Maria was in stark contrast to her austere sister Charlotte, who often found fault with her sibling. Charlotte was a serious-minded Christian who rarely laughed or showed any emotion. She criticized Maria for not being serious enough about her faith, to which she replied, “Never mind; with all your devotions, I shall be in paradise before you, and have a better place there.”[3]

There was a serious side to Maria’s faith, and when God called her to a life of sacrifice as a missionary to the Chinese people she did not hesitate to obey. After arriving in Tianjin she penned many letters home, telling of the joys and challenges of the orphanage work. On September 21, 1869, she wrote,

“The French troops [have] given bad examples to the population, and it is we who have to bear the evil results of this. At first we were not able to receive a single child, for all the people were afraid of us; and now, by dint of patience and prayers, these poor benighted people are beginning to see the light….

My happiness is so great that my pen cannot express it. Yet, how many troubles there are on the part of the devil, who is so jealous of our efforts to snatch away from him the subjects whom he thinks are his own property!”[4]

Maria Andreoni made great progress with the Chinese language and was able to teach the children sooner than any of her co-workers. On one occasion in 1897 Maria told her colleagues in Tianjin that she had a vivid dream that she was martyred for the cause of Christ. One by one the other nuns asked her if they were in the dream too, to which she replied, “Yes.” When the elderly Sister Dutrouilh asked if she was in the dream too, Maria replied, “No, we were ten of us, but you were not there.”[5] The other Sisters did not put too much weight in Maria’s dream, but on June 21, 1870, Maria Andreoni and the other nine nuns were massacred at Tianjin, just as she had seen in the dream. Sister Dutrouilh had been surprisingly transferred to another station a short time before the massacre.

Maria was the second nun slain by the incensed mob. She was killed “with a hatchet, then impaled and placed on one of the sides of the outer door.”[6] When news of Maria’s martyrdom reached Italy her parents said, “We are not surprised. Our dear Maria loved God so much that she was always speaking of the happiness it would be to her to be able to die a martyr.”[7] A friend of hers from seminary gave the following tribute:

“What struck me most in her was her great simplicity and also her fervour and ardent desire to be martyred in China. All her prayers, I believe, were offered up to obtain this grace from God…. ‘Let us always be faithful,’ she would say, ‘to our holy rules; and when we are sent to our different posts, we will write to one another and ask each other if we have kept up this spirit of piety and regularity. Oh, I want really to love our Lord and to be faithful to Him in the very smallest things.’”[8]

1. Herbert, The First Martyrs of the Holy Childhood, 9.
2. Herbert, The First Martyrs of the Holy Childhood, 9.
3. Herbert, The First Martyrs of the Holy Childhood, 10.
4. Herbert, The First Martyrs of the Holy Childhood, 17-18.
5. Herbert, The First Martyrs of the Holy Childhood, 21.
6. Herbert, The First Martyrs of the Holy Childhood, 329.
7. Herbert, The First Martyrs of the Holy Childhood, 10.
8. Herbert, The First Martyrs of the Holy Childhood, 11.