Anna Wang
Martyr · 1886–1900 · China
Life events
- Born — 1886
Anna Wang was born in 1886 in Majiazhuang, Hebei, China, into a poor Catholic family.
- Educated — 1891
After losing her mother at age five, Anna received her Catholic religious education from a nun named Lucy Wang.
- Other — 1897
At age eleven Anna was betrothed for marriage but refused the arrangement, remaining devoted to her Catholic faith.
- Martyred — 1900
On 21 July 1900, armed Boxer Rebellion fighters came to Majiazhuang to kill Christians and burn the church. When ordered to renounce her faith, Anna refused; she and her companions were beheaded. She was fourteen years old.
- Translated — 1901
On 6 November 1901, Anna Wang's body was exhumed from the mass grave where it had been deposited with other martyrs and given a proper Catholic burial.
- Other — 1955
Pope Pius XII venerated Anna Wang on 22 February 1955 and formally beatified her on 17 April 1955, advancing her cause within the Martyrs of China group process.
- Other — 2000
Pope John Paul II canonized Anna Wang on 1 October 2000 as part of the collective canonization of the 120 Martyrs of China.
Relationships
- Related to Pope Pius X (plausible)
- Related to Pope John Paul II (plausible)
Documented claims
- Anna Wang was fourteen years old when she was beheaded on 21 July 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion, making her one of the youngest of the 120 Martyrs of China. (certain)
- After her execution, Anna Wang's body was thrown into a mass grave with other martyred Christians; the remains were exhumed and reinterred with proper burial on 6 November 1901. (likely)
- When Boxer fighters ordered each Christian in Majiazhuang to renounce their faith or be killed, Anna Wang explicitly refused — the act for which she is venerated as a martyr. (certain)
- Anna Wang's religious formation was provided by a nun named Lucy Wang, under whose instruction she received her Catholic education after losing her mother at age five. (likely)
- Anna Wang was canonized on 1 October 2000 by Pope John Paul II as part of the collective canonization of the 120 Martyrs of China — a group spanning three centuries of Catholic missions in China. (certain)