LANTRUA, GIOVANNI DA TRIORA, BEATO

He served several times as superior of the convents of Tarquinia and Velletri, until in 1798 he departed for China, arriving—after a long stay in Lisbon and a difficult journey—at Macao at the beginning of 1806. He reached Hu-nan, his intended destination, between 1808 and 1809. During a period of political unrest and religious persecution, he carried out an active apostolate in Hu-nan, Hu-pè, Ho-nan, and Kang-si, where he remained from 1804 to 1812. Arrested for religious reasons in July 1815, after six months of severe imprisonment, on February 7, 1816, the death sentence was carried out in Chan-xa. He was beatified by Leo XIII with a brief dated May 7, 1900. His body, transported to Rome, rests in the church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli. Feast day: February 13.