A bit of admiration for some holly men

Discussion Open Forum
#1

i’m known to be rather “anti-religion” and there’s not much in the religious world i regard as inspiring,
but while sitting in the church during my daughter’s graduation,i was found to be staring at this picture

then i wikied the name when i got back home,and i must say,peoples like him have my utmost respect.

most of the forumosans will know how it is to try “going local”,and quite frankly,we had it much easier than this joseph.

i’ve been trying to make the comparison between my state of mind as i was on the plane going to taiwan,and his own mind on the way to hong-kong,i’m sure it wasn’t even close.

doing what he did required foolishness,or faithfulness,i guess he had the latter :notworthy:

#2

Ok, so who is he?

Wiki link?

#3

Holly men?Interesting.I only associate holly with Christmas…

#4

sorry,i forgot

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Freinademetz

Freinademetz was born in Oies a part of Austria and now part of Italy. During his studies and the three years in San Martino, Freinademetz always felt a calling to be a missionary. He contacted Arnold Janssen, founder of the mission house Society of the Divine Word in Steyl, a village in the south-east of the Netherlands.
In March 1879 he and his confrere John Baptist Anzer boarded a ship to Hong Kong, where they stayed for two years. In 1881 they moved to the province South Shantung that they were assigned to. There were 12 million people living in this province, of which 158 had been baptized.

Freinademetz was very active in the education of Chinese laymen and priests. He wrote a catechetical manual in Chinese, which he considered a crucial part of their missionary effort. There was an outbreak of typhus in this time, and he helped wherever he could, until he himself became infected. He returned to Taikia, South Shandong, where he died. He was buried in Taikia, at the twelfth station on the Way of the Cross. Freinademetz and Arnold Janssen were canonized on October 5, 2003 by Pope John Paul II, as was Daniele Comboni, an important missionary in Africa.

#5

Interesting fellow, but let’s not forget Rev. Mackay. He authored From Far Formosa: the island, its people and missions in which you can read his experiences in Taiwan, established schools, churches and a hospital. Quite a character. His grave is in Danshui as well as a large bust featuring his famous beard.

Wiki link: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Leslie_Mackay

Whereas Mackay was involved largely in northern Taiwan, Rev. Thomas Barclay was involved in southern Taiwan.

[quote=“Wikipedia”]Reverend Thomas Barclay (1849-1935) was a British missionary to Formosa (Taiwan). His work in South Taiwan has been compared to the proselytizing done in North Taiwan by George Leslie Mackay. He founded Tainan Theological College in 1880.

Barclay is buried alongside several other missionaries in the Presbyterian section of a public cemetery in the southern part of Tainan City. To honor his contributions to the city, in 2004, the Tainan City Government renamed the Park No.18 (十八號公園) the Barclay Memorial Park (巴克禮紀念公園).[/quote]