BROLLO, BASILIO, da GEMONA. — One of the most illustrious Franciscan missionaries, and the first apostolic vicar of Shensi. Born at Gemona in Friuli on 25 March 1648, he entered the Order in 1666 and, having been ordained a priest, became a preacher and professor of philosophy and theology. In 1680 he departed for China with Mgr. Bernardino Della Chiesa, who later appointed him his secretary and vicar general and had in him an intelligent collaborator in the visitation of the missions of Chekiang, Hukwang, and Kweichow. In 1696 he was elected apostolic vicar of Shensi; the bulls, however, did not reach him until 1700. He resumed with zeal and success the apostolate of the Jesuits, his predecessors in the province, bringing new life to many Christian communities that had declined after the death of Fr. Stefano Lefèvre and the persecution of 1665. He worked not only among the people but also in educated circles, owing to his great knowledge of the language. He died while still relatively young, on 16 July 1704. In announcing his death, Cardinal Sacripanti, prefect of Propaganda, called him “the greatest missionary of his time.”
To him is owed the first Chinese-Latin dictionary compiled by a European (Dictionarium sinico-latinum), which nevertheless remained in manuscript and, after being revised, was later published in French by J. De Guignes: Dictionnaire Chinois-français et latin (Paris 1812), without his even deigning to name the true author, thereby provoking protests from sinologists. A second edition was produced by the Franciscans (Hong Kong 1853), and a third by the Jesuits (Hokienfu 1877). Other linguistic works by B. remain in manuscript, in addition to minor works of a catechetical-apologetic nature, likewise in Chinese.