Cause for Canonization - Matteo Ricci, S.J

Matteo Ricci, S.J, was a Jesuit priest and missionary to China. He was one of the first Christian missionaries in China for more than 1000 years. Ricci and a group of Jesuits were the first Roman Catholic (Latin) missionaries to China. He is sometimes called Apostle of China, and for good reason. Here is his story, the story of a remarkable man.

A scientist, "Rennaisance Man", Jesuit priest and deep thinker, Ricci was all of these as well as great missionary. Ricci was born in 1552 in Macerata, a small town in Italy, just east of Rome. The elder Ricci sent his son to Rome to study law. Instead, the young man of sixteen entered the Jesuit novitiate of Sant’Andrea.

Ricci greatly desired to serve in the Chinese mission, and he got his wish. Ricci was ordained a priest, and was sent to Macao, the Portugese territory in South China. There, he taught humanities and completed studies in theology, as well as learnt the Chinese language, a difficult language to master especially as it has no fixed alphabet. At the same time, the young priest battled poor health and illness.

Ricci arrived in South China in 1582, and arrived at the imperial court of Wanli in 1601. Ricci began missionary work in China, and soon learned the elegance, grandeur and majesty of ancient Chinese civilisation. Ricci saw his mission differently from saints such as St. Francis Xavier, and carried out his mission primarily through the scientific apostolate.

He mastered classical Chinese and gained influence among the court officials and intelligentsia by introducing western maps and even a clock. In 1607 he and Chinese Catholic mathematician Xu Guangqi (himself converted due to Ricci's effots) translated the first parts of Euclid's Elements into Chinese. Ricci's work on a Chinese-language atlas of the world included coining Chinese names for European countries. many of which are still in use in Chinese today.

Ricci brought Western advancements such as triggonometry, the Gregorian Calendar (the Jesuits in China reformed the Chinese calendar system), Venetian glass and western philosophy to China. He also translated Confucius' teachings into Latin (the name Confucius is Ricci's own latinization). Ricci translated Christian teachings from Latin into Chinese, expressing the rich meaning behind them and winning over countless converts from among court officials. He taught Chinese scholars how to construct a memory palace to remember facts and figures. However, he became involved in a bitter and needless controversy over Chinese ancestor worchip. Nevertheless, he still was a mighty champion of Chinese culture, and Catholic morality.

In 1610, Matteo Ricci–known in China as "Li-ma-teu," died from "the strain of the apostolate which demanded a multiplication of the self." He left 2,500 Chinese Catholics, including many of the educated class. Of the eighteen Jesuits laboring there, half were indigenous Chinese.

Today, the Chinese regard Ricci as nothing less than a national hero. Even the Chinese Communist Party acknowledged this. Matteo Ricci stands out even today as a beacon of culture, something the Catholic Church has always stood for over the centuries.

On 9 April 1984 his cause for canonization was introduced. His cause has been completed on the diocesan level, giving him the title "Servant of God". If you have information relevant his cause, such as miracle reports through his intercession or documentation, contact Curia Diocesana di Macerata, Piazza Strambi, 3, 62019 Macerata, Italy.

Sources:
About Matteo Ricci: http://www.spiritus-temporis.com/matteo-ricci/
http://matrix.scranton.edu/about/ab_matteo_ricci.shtml
http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/jmac/sj/scientist/ricci.htm, which in turn quotes: Archivum Historicum Societatis Iesu ( AHSI ) Rome: Institutum Historicum
Bangert, William A History of the Society of Jesus. St. Louis: St. Louis Institute, 1972uis, 1810
Boyer, Carl A history of mathematics. New York: Wiley, 1968
Burke-Gaffney, M. W. Kepler and the Jesuits. Milwaukee: Bruce, 1944,
Cajori, Florian A history of mathematical notations 2 vols. Chicago: Open Court, 1928
Encyclopedia Britannica. 24 vols. Chicago: Benton, 1959
Gallagher, Louis China in 16th Century: journals of Matthew Ricci New York: 1953
Gillispie, Charles. C. ed., Dictionary of Scientific biography. 16 vols. New York: Charles Scribner and Sons, 1970
Oldenburg, Henry ed. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. vols. 1-30. London: 1665-1715
Reilly, Conor "A catalogue of Jesuitica in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London" in A.H.S.I. vol. 27,1958, p. 339-362
Sarton, GeorgeThe study of the history of mathematics. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard, 1936
Sommervogel, Carolus Bibliothèque de la compagnie de Jésus. 12 volumes. Bruxelles: Société Belge de Libraire, 1890-1960

Mention of Matteo Ricci is made in the Dictionary of Scientific Biography: Vol. 3 p311, Vol. 4 p457, Vol. 7 p19, Vol. 10 p103, Vol. 11 p402-403, Vol. 14 p162-4.
Also 36 entries are found in Sommervogel; some examples are the following:
Ki ho youen pen - Geometrica Practica (Peking, 1595 ;later reprinted in Nanking,1865)
Hoen kai tong hien tou cho - Explanation of the celestial sphere (Peking, 1607)

Also quoted in this essay are:
Gilbert Highet: The Art of Teaching. New York: Knopf, 1954, p. 222-223.
Joseph Needham: Civilization in China. vol. 3 Cambridge: University Press, 1959, p. 173.
John F. Baddeley: Russia, Mongolia, China, 1602-1676. New York: Burt Franklin, 1916.

Cause for sainthood: http://saints.sqpn.com/ncd07089.htm


Servant of God Matteo Ricci, S.J, ora pro nobis.