Gertrude
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| Introduction | Named after Gertrude Li Minwen who was persecuted by Maoist officials because of her allegiance to the Legion of Mary and her friendship with Italian missionary priests. As a young Catholic teacher she was imprisoned for four months in 1951 and on her release subjected to a course of indoctrination for refusing to publicly denounce the Catholic Church. Her prison diary was smuggled out of China sewn into the soles of the shoes of a missionary father. After years of persecution by the Chinese government the latest report (1991) was that she had surrendered to a forced marriage. Baptized in 1938 when she was 13, she could be 84 now, so who knows if her struggle is at an end. Lord, give Gertrude strength in her fight for the faith in the face of anti-religious hatred. |
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