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Father Matteo Ricci: 4th Centenary of the Death Scott 1443-1444 (2010) Jesuit missionary Father Matteo Ricci died on May 11, 1610, in what is now Beijing, China. In 2010, Vatican City issued the two stamps shown above to commemorate the 400th anniversary of his death. Matteo Ricci was born in 1552 in Macerata. He studied philosophy and theology at the Collegio Romano in Rome. While there he also studied mathematics, astronomy, and cartography under famed mathematician Christopher Clavius.  Father Christopher Clavius: 4th Centenary of the Death Scott 1494 (2012) In 1578, he was assigned to do missionary work in China. He first went to Macao and became fluent in the Chinese language and adapted to Chinese customs and culture. In 1583, he entered China. In bringing his mathematical and astronomical knowledge to China, he attracted an important audience among the Chinese elite, eventually meeting with Emperor K’ang-Hsi in Peking. He was the first western missionary so invited. In working to convert the Chinese to Catholicism, he supported some Chinese traditions, including the veneration of family ancestors. For some, this was viewed as an unacceptable accommodation, while others have praised his efforts to avoid distorting the Gospel message while respecting the indigenous customs of the Chinese. For this, Ricci is remembered for opening doors between the Church and the Chinese people. Among the Chinese elite, he worked with scientist and scholar Xu Guangqi in translating Western works into Chinese, as well as Confucian classics into Latin, a first in recorded history. Xu Guangqi is pictured with Matteo Ricci in one of the stamps at the top of this article. By the time he died in 1610, Ricci left behind approximately 2,500 Chinese Catholics. He was buried in the Chinese capital, an honor that would have been considered unimaginable prior to his work in China. In 2023, Pope Francis remembered Father Matteo Ricci in the following statement: "His love for the Chinese people is a model; but what is a very timely one, is his consistency of life, his Christian witness. He brought Christianity to China...”  Monument to Father Matteo Ricci Cathedral of Saint Julian, Macerata, Italy Photo by Awinkler3 From Wikimedia Commons Used under the terms of the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication REFERENCES: |
