St. Francisco Fernandez de Capillas
St. Francisco Fernandez de Capillas (born August 15, 1607 Baquerin de Campos, Palencia, Spain) entered the Dominican Order at the age of 17 and while still a deacon was sent to the Philippines to do missionary work. He arrived in Manila in February 1631. Shortly after, he was ordained a priest.
Fernandez de Capillas was in the Philippines for 10 years, and considered the time spent there as a preparation for his mission work in China. In 1641, he was given permission to go to Taiwan along with his friend, Fr. Francisco Diez. They were ousted by the Dutch later the same year. He arrived in the Province of Fujian in March 1642. There he joined the Dominicans, who had survived earlier persecutions. For more than two years, St. Francisco enjoyed a great period of evangelization. While there, he also established a community of the Third Order of St. Dominic.
On November 4, 1644, Fernandez de Capillas' friend, Fr. Francisco Diez, died of natural causes. Later the same day, the Manchurians invaded the city of Fuan in their conquest of the Ming Dynasty. They were hostile toward the missionaries, and began their persecution against them. On November 13, 1647, St. Francisco was captured upon returning from administering the sacraments to a sick person. He was taken to a local prison, where he was tortured. He endured his sufferings in silence, which surprised the judges and torturers. Fernandez de Capillas was then taken to another prison for those criminals under sentence of death. He was admired even by his captors, who brought him food in secret.
In prison he wrote,
“I am here with other prisoners and we have developed a fellowship. They ask me about the Gospel of the Lord. I am not concerned about getting out of here, because here I know I am doing the will of God. They do not let me stay up at night to pray, so I pray in bed before dawn. I live here in great joy without any worry, knowing that I am here because of Jesus Christ. The pearls that I found here these days are not always easy to find.”
On January 15, 1648, Fernandez de Capillas was sentenced to death. He was charged with disseminating false doctrines and inciting people against the new emperor. He was martyred by decapitation later the same day.
St. Francisco was beatified by Pope St. Pius X on May 2, 1909, and canonized by Pope St. John Paul II on October 1, 2000. He is considered a protomartyr by the Holy See, and his feast day is January 15.