Mary Fu Guilin was a Catholic martyr born in 1863 in the Hebei province of China. Raised in a religious family in Luopo village, she dedicated her life to God and chose to remain unmarried. After completing her secondary education, she supported Catholic missionaries by teaching children at a local parish school. Her life ended during the Boxer Rebellion, a period of intense persecution for Christians in China, when she was executed by insurgents in June 1900.
Life and death
During the uprising of 1899–1900, rebels seized the village where Mary lived. They took her outside the settlement and executed her by decapitation. To frighten the local Christian community, the insurgents hung her head on the door of a nearby inn. Two years later, her brother reportedly discovered her remains, which appeared incorrupt, an event viewed as a miracle.
Veneration
She was beatified by Pope Pius XII in 1955 and later canonized by Pope John Paul II on October 1, 2000. She was recognized as part of a group of 120 Chinese martyrs. The Catholic Church commemorates her feast day on July 9.