Our Vincentian Heroes
Francis Regis Clet
Vincent de Paul heralded the courage of martyrs, but he frequently told his sons and his daughters that to live the Gospel faithfully and to cultivate the Vincentian virtues of humility, simplicity, zeal and charity each day of one's life is a virtual martyrdom.
Francis Regis Clet, through his conscientious living out of his daily responsibilities, grew in that holiness which strengthened him to accept martyrdom for his Christian faith in 1820 in China.
Francis Regis Clet was born into a farm family in Grenoble, France, in 1748. After completing his early education he followed his older brother and sister into vowed religious life. He entered the Congregation of the Mission (Vincentians). After ordination, Francis petitioned to go to China as a missionary.
In 1811, the anti-Christian persecutions in China intensified with the Christians being accused of inciting rebellion against the ruling dynasty. For several years, Francis Clet endured abuse and attacks, which frequently forced him to find refuge in the mountains. In 1819, with a generous reward on their heads, Clet and a Chinese confrere became fugitives. Like Jesus, Francis Regis Clet was finally betrayed by one of his own.
On January 1, 1820, Clet was found guilty of deceiving the Chinese people by preaching Christianity and was sentenced to strangulation on a cross. On February 18, after approval of his sentence by the Emperor, Francis Regis Clet was executed. As in the case of Jesus, Christians took his body and buried it on a hillside where it rested until it was returned to the Vincentian motherhouse in Paris several decades later.
Francis Regis Clet was canonized a saint on October 1, 2000.
