HOLINESS IN SALESIAN FAMILY - OUR SAINTS
St. LOUIS VERSIGLIA and
St. CALLISTUS CARAVARIO
His name was Callistus Caravario. Born at Cuorgne near Turin in 1903, he grew up in the Salesian Oratories at the school of an active apostolate and had decided to give his life to the missions. He kept his promise. In fact, in 1924 while still a cleric, he was sent to Macao, and later to Shanghai and Timor in far-away Indonesia. Meanwhile, the situation in China was deteriorating. The revolutionary party in power, the “Kuomintang” (in which Chiang Kaishek was the new rising star) allied itself in 1925 with the Chinese communist party (which among its brilliant intellectuals had Mao Tse-tung). Two years later, however, the two parties split up and then opposed each other. Official troops and irregulars, armed bands and pirates ran riot through the country and fought to gain control of the government. The situation of the missionaries became critical. Many of them were accused of being enemies of the people. The Vicariate of Shiu Chow was especially vulnerable. “We are completely under Bolshevik control” Versiglia had written in 1926, “and we don’t know how things will turn out.”
Fr. Caravario returned to China in March 1929 because Monsignor wanted him to be with him in Shiu Chow. In May of that year he ordained him a priest. “Now your Callistus is no longer yours,” he wrote to his mother in Italy, “he must be entirely the Lord’s, wholly consecrated to his service.” Sent to Lin Chow which was a very promising Salesian mission center, Fr. Caravario threw himself into his work. His small community was growing in size and strength with each passing day. He was highly esteemed by everyone. Six months later he returned to Shiu Chow to report to his bishop, and the latter decided to go and see for himself. So both set out on the two-day journey for Lin Chow - but were never to arrive.
The first day they traveled by train, the second they hired a boat. They had with them four young school teachers--two male and two female--who had recently qualified at the mission school, and a young school girl. All of them were happily returning home, never imagining that someone was hidden among the bamboo on the bank waiting for them. The ambush had been set up in an ideal spot out of sight. There were about ten or twelve men--some were communist soldiers, others plain bandits. One young man was after one of the female school teachers. (He had asked her to marry him, but she had refused since she wanted to become a nun.
Nevertheless, he was determined to take her by force) It was noon on the 25th of February 1930. The large boat was gliding along the edge of the Lin Chow river. At one point a voice called out loudly: “Stop.” The men jumped out suddenly from the bush with their guns leveled.
“Get on board,” the voice ordered. There was nothing to do but obey. At first Bishop Versiglia was not too worried. He had been captured by bandits before - once on that very spot - and he had always been set free, leaving them whatever he had. But this time the pirates’ demand was excessively absurd: $500 on the spot. Bishop Versiglia, ready to do anything to save the defenceless girls from attack, tried to bargain with the bandits, but when they jumped on board to seize the girls, he shielded them with his own body.
Fr. Caravario was standing there. An uneven and desperate struggle ensued.
The two missionaries were clubbed with rifle butts on their chests, arms and heads. They fell back into the boat unconscious. The three young girls were forced to get off the boat and then the two missionaries were dragged ashore. They were bound, searched and pushed around. They could do nothing to protect the girls. “We’re going to destroy all religions,” screamed one of the soldiers. “If we win, no woman in China will ever go back to study catechism.” The missionaries were dragged into a thicket a short distance away. Bishop Versiglia knew what was about to happen and told the soldiers: “I’m an old man. Kill me if you will. But he is young, spare him.” (Fr. Caravario was 27). “ No,” they retorted, “the foreign devils must all die.” The missionaries prayed in silence.
A moment later the silence was shattered by five rifle shots. “There’s something inexplicable here,” said one of the soldiers after the executions. “I’ve already seen many die, and they all were afraid. These, instead, were happy.” The good shepherds are indeed happy to give their lives for their flock.
