Jacques Berthieu

Father Jacques Berthieu , was a French Jesuit, priest and missionary in Madagascar. He died for the Christian faith during the Menalamba rebellion of 1896. He was 57 years old. He is the first martyr of Madagascar to be beatified . He was canonized a saint at the Vatican by Pope Benedict XVI, along with some others, at papal canonization Mass on October 21, 2012, in the middle of a meeting of the Catholic Synod of Bishops.

Jacques Berthieu was born on November 27, 1838, in the area of Montlogis, in Polminhac, in the Auvergne in central France, the son of deeply Christian farmers of modest means. His childhood was spent working and studying, surrounded by his family. The early death of an older sister made him the oldest of six children. He studied at the seminary of SaintFlour and was ordained to the priesthood for this diocese on May 21, 1864. His bishop, Monseigneur de Pompignac, named him vicar in RoannesSaint Mary, where he replaced an ill and aged priest. He served as a diocesan priest for nine years.

Source: Wikipedia