Profile
The son of Antonio Maria Lantrua and Maria Pasqua Ferraironi, Francesco was educated in Barnabite schools. He joined the Franciscan Friars Minor in Rome, Italy on 9 March 1777, just a few days before he turned 17, taking the name Giovanni. He was ordained a priest in 1784, and taught theology in Tivoli and Tarquinia, Italy. He also became a superior of Franciscan convents in Tarquinia, Velletri and Montecelio, Italy.
In 1799 Giovanni joined the missions and was sent to China. In Macau, he learned the language, learned the culture, dressed like the locals, and began his work. In the summer of 1815, the Chinese authorities began a concerted effort to persecute and suppress Christianity. Father Giovanni was imprisoned on 26 July 1815 with several of his parishioners just after Mass. He was repeatedly tortured for several months, and repeatedly ordered to renounce his faith; However, he refused and he was martyred.
Born
- 15 March 1760 at Triora, Imperia, Italy as Francesco Maria Lantrua
Died
- tied to a cross and then strangled to death on 7 February 1816 at Ch’angsha Fu, Hunan, China
- buried in the cathedral of San Paolo in Macao, China
- re-interred in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Ara Coeli, Rome, Italy
Venerated
- 25 March 1900 by Pope Leo XIII (decree of martyrdom)
Beatified
- 27 May 1900 by Pope Leo XIII
Canonized
- 1 October 2000 by Pope John Paul II
Source: https://catholicsaints.info/saint-giovanni-of-triora/
