Saint Francis Ferdinand de Capillas (15 January): Butler's Lives of the Saints

About this sermon

St. Francis Ferdinand de Capillas, O.P. (†1648) was a Dominican missionary and martyr who gave his life for Christ during the great upheavals of 17th-century China. In this episode from The Lives of the Saints by Fr. Alban Butler, we commemorate the saint honored on January 15, recounting his humble origins in Valladolid, Spain, his entrance into the Order of Preachers (Dominicans) at age 17, and his heroic missionary labors in the Philippines, Formosa (Taiwan), and the Chinese province of Fujian. Ordained in Manila in 1631, St. Francis Ferdinand embraced intense austerity, poverty, and mortification, seeing his early missionary years as preparation for the greater suffering he believed God was calling him to endure. His evangelical zeal led to many conversions, but also to suspicion during the fall of the Ming Dynasty and the violent Manchu takeover. Arrested, cruelly tortured, falsely accused of rebellion, and finally beheaded on January 15, 1648, St. Francis Ferdinand de Capillas was later beatified by the Holy See as a true martyr for the Faith, despite political charges brought against him. His final words testify to a life wholly surrendered to Christ: “I have never had any other home than the world… nor any other reason for living than to work and suffer for the glory of Jesus Christ and for the eternal happiness of those who believe in His Name.” This video is a powerful witness to Catholic missionary history, Dominican spirituality, and the enduring truth that the blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church. 🙏 St. Francis Ferdinand de Capillas, pray for us. 00:00 Introduction – Butler’s Lives of the Saints 00:20 January 15 – St. Francis Ferdinand de Capillas 00:27 Dominicans in China after the Jesuits 00:39 Early life in Spain & Dominican vocation 00:52 Missionary calling to the Philippines 01:01 Life of austerity and mortification 01:23 Call to the Chinese mission 01:38 Evangelization and conversions in Fujian 01:51 Fall of the Ming Dynasty 02:04 Siege of Fogan and political upheaval 02:18 Arrest and trial of the missionary 02:31 Torture and martyrdom (1648) 02:46 Beatification as a true martyr 03:03 Reflection on martyrdom and eternal life 03:26 Final words of St. Francis Ferdinand https://sensusfidelium.com/the-lives-of-the-fathers-martyrs-and-other-principal-saints/january/ Get Butler's Lives of the Saints here: https://loretopublications.idevaffiliate.com/idevaffiliate.php?id=102&url=1 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 Support Catholic Businesses here - https://sensusfidelium.com/catholic-businesses/ Sensus Fidelium Press - https://sensusfideliumpress.com/ Sensus Fidelium Apps - https://sensusfidelium.tv/ Support Sensus Fidelium - https://sensusfidelium.com/donate-support/ 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 🙏🏻PLEASE HELP OUR CHANNEL GROW 🙏🏻 ▶ 1. Become a Channel Patron: https://www.patreon.com/SensusFidelium ▶ 2. Visit the website https://www.sensusfidelium.com for Gueranger, Saint of the Day, Apologetics, Meditation by the Saints, Scripture Study and more. ▶ 3. Subscribe to Other Video Platforms 🔴 SpiritusTV - https://spiritustv.com/@SensusFidelium 🔴 BitChute --- https://www.bitchute.com/channel/Sensus_Fidelium/ 🔴 Rumble --- https://rumble.com/c/c-298311 🔴 My Catholic Tube - https://mycatholictube.com/videos/sensus-fidelium-channel/ 🔴 LBRY.tv --- https://lbry.tv/@SensusFidelium:c 🔴 ODYSEE - https://odysee.com/@SensusFidelium:c 🔴 UGETube - https://videos.utahgunexchange.com/@Sensus%20Fidelium 🔴 BrandNewTube - https://brandnewtube.com/@SensusFidelium 🔴 GabTV - https://tv.gab.com/channel/Sensus_Fidelium 🔴 GloriaTV - https://gloria.tv/Sensus%20Fidelium 🔴 Brighteon - https://www.brighteon.com/channels/sensusfidelium ▶ 4. Paypal, Bitcoin, Anedot, Stripe, Square & PO Box donations - https://sensusfidelium.com/donate-support/ ▶ 5. YouTube: Click Subscribe, then Click "Notification Bell" = 🔔 ▶ 6. Please share this video 📲, and help others find Christ inside the Catholic Church! Please share this video on Facebook and Twitter using the share button. ▶ 7. Follow on Social Media: 🔴 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SensusFidelium/ 🔴 Twitter: https://https://twitter.com/Sensus_Fidelium 🔴 Parler: https://parler.com/profile/Sensusfidelium/posts 🔴 SP3RN: https://www.sp3rn.com/community/pages/14-sensus-fidelium 🔴 GAB: https://gab.com/Sensus_Fidelium 🔴 Bastyon: https://bastyon.com/sensusfidelium 🔴 GETTR: https://gettr.com/user/sensus_fidelium 🔴 INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/sensusfidelium/ 🔴 Telegram: https//t.me/RealSensusFidelium 🔴 Truth Social - @SensusFidelium ▶ 8. Follow on iTunes: 🔴 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sensus-fidelium-catholic-podcast/id1477010758 #StFrancisFerdinandDeCapillas #CatholicSaints #DominicanMartyrs #MartyrsOfChina #LivesOfTheSaints #January15Saint #CatholicHistory #TraditionalCatholic #OrderOfPreachers #CatholicMissionaries