FOGOLLA, FRANCESCO, Blessed. - Bishop, missionary, and martyr, born at Montereggio in the Tuscan Garfagnana on 4 Oct. 1838, died on 9 July 1900 during the Boxer persecution, at Tai-yuan-fu, Shansi (China). At the age of 17 he entered the Franciscan Order, and at 24 he was a priest. In 1866 he left as a missionary for China, assigned to Shansi. He learned the Chinese language with rare mastery.
Active and ardent by character, he soon became the advocate of the Christians. In 1887, when the great international exhibition was organized in Turin with a special missionary section, he took part in it to represent the missions of Shansi, bringing much rare and curious material. He took advantage of the occasion to undertake a propaganda tour in Europe on behalf of his mission, and while he was in Paris he received his appointment as coadjutor bishop to Mons. Grassi. In 1898 he returned to China, where his desire to die with weapons in hand was fulfilled in martyrdom. He was beatified by Pius XII on 24 Nov. 1946.