February 29 — Auguste Chapdelaine is a missionary priest, a martyr in China. Born in 1814, he is the son of peasants on the Coutances side. From an early age, he wanted to enter the orders and go on a mission, but the burden of agricultural work prevented him from doing so and he was not able to enter the seminary until he was 20 years old.

Ordained a priest in 1843, he was appointed vicar in a small country church. It was not until 1851 that he entered the Foreign Missions of Paris. A year later he was sent to Guangxi, China. He showed a lot of ardour to leave, knowing that the Christian religion is strictly forbidden in China. His trip to China lasted a year and he took advantage of this time to learn Chinese. A small Christian community received him and he took the name of Father Ma.

Just nine days into his mission, he was arrested and then released. But later, the Mandarins began to persecute him. Accused of propagating a religion of evil, he was arrested again on February 25, 1856, along with 25 other Christian believers. Sentenced to death, he was locked in a metal box from which only his head appeared. He was left there until his death, and it was only when he had given up his soul that he was beheaded on February 29, 1856.

Pope Leo XIII beatified him in 1900 and Pope John Paul II canonized him on October 1, 2000, along with the other 120 martyrs of China who died between the 17th and 20th centuries.