Father Vincent Lebbe <br/><br/>
In the history of the Catholic Church in China, Fr. Lebbe is one of the best in terms of promoting the job of evangelization by a local priest. Because of his hard work, a total of six Chinese bishops were consecrated by Pope Pius XI on October 28, 1926. Fr. Lebbe was born in Belgium in 1887, and he joined the Congregation of the Mission during his youth. He was ordained in China at the age of 24. His motto is “Born a Chinese, Die a Chinese”. He once also said that “My eyes and nose may look like a foreigner, but my heart is a true Chinese!” He later also became a Chinese citizen. <br/><br/>
In order to fight against the colony mentality, he actively pursued the idea of having a local bishop. When Japan invaded China, he organized ambulance teams to take care of those injured during the war. He also published a newspaper at that time to boost the spirit of those in war. <br/><br/>
He founded four organizations, namely the Evangelization Auxiliary Committee, International Catholic Auxiliaries, Congregation of St. John the Baptist, and The Little Sisters of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus. Their spiritual ideas are based on complete sacrifice, real love, and a constant state of happiness. <br/><br/>
Some of the highlights from Fr. Lebbe include “I always give 100% of my energy, never 99%”, “We should look for jobs, but not the jobs coming to look for us”, “Don’t be afraid to waste your effort, but only be worried about not achieving the best results”, “Control the environment, but don’t be controlled by it”, “The highest level of treating others is to do so without any tricks”. <br/><br/>
Fr. Lebbe returned to God’s kingdom on June 24, 1940. <br/><br/>
The Congregation of St. John the Baptist founded the Lebbe Secondary School in Hong Kong in 1949, and congregations in Taiwan beginning in 1954. <br/><br/>
May the patriotism of Fr. Lebbe remain in our heart forever.