Anna Wang

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Anna Wang (Wang Yana) was a Chinese Catholic girl who became a saint. Born in 1886 in Majiazhuang, Hebei, she grew up in a poor Christian family and was educated in the faith by a nun named Lucy Wang. She refused an arranged marriage when she was about eleven and lived devoutly as a Catholic.

In July 1900, during the Boxer Rebellion, Boxers demanded that Christians renounce their faith or be killed. Anna and several others refused, and she was beheaded on July 22, 1900, at about age 14. Her body was buried in a mass grave and later given a proper burial in 1901.

Anna Wang is honored in the Catholic Church as one of the Martyrs of China. She was canonized as a saint on October 1, 2000, by Pope John Paul II. Her feast day is July 22. She is the patron saint of China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, youth, innocents, and the Chinese diaspora.