Juan Alcober was an 18th-century Spanish Dominican friar and missionary who served as a bishop in China. Born in Granada in 1694, he joined the Dominican Order and was ordained a priest in 1718. After serving in the Philippines, where he studied Chinese language and culture, he traveled to China to continue his missionary work. Because his religious activities were prohibited by local authorities, he lived in hiding before his eventual capture and death.
Life and martyrdom
After working in the Philippines, Alcober moved to Guangzhou and Fu'an. While conducting his ministry, he faced intense persecution from local officials. Following a violent raid on his home by soldiers, he was interrogated and branded on his face as a criminal. He was eventually executed by strangulation in Fuzhou on October 28, 1748, alongside several other Dominicans.
Veneration
The Catholic Church recognizes him as a saint. He was beatified by Pope Leo XIII in 1893 and later canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2000, as part of a group of Chinese martyrs. His feast day is observed on July 9.