On this day in 1870, Sister Alice O’ Sullivan of Clonmel, a member of the Vincentian Order was martyred in China in what became known as the ‘Tianjin Massacre.’
Alice O’ Sullivan was born in Clonmel in 1836. Contemporary accounts of her portray her as a ‘woman of strong character and deep piety’. She was tall, well-built and had a dark complexion. She became a nun and spent time in France. In 1863, at her own request, she was sent to Tianjin in China where her Order had a hospital for Europeans. She proved herself to be a competent and much-loved nurse.
Alice arrived in China in 1863 with a community of Sisters. They travelled with the firm purpose of bringing the Christian message to the people of China. It is not known whether or not Alice and the others would have been aware that, at this time, there was huge hostility and resentment among the Chinese towards Westerners.
China had recently been defeated in two ‘Opium Wars’ and had been forced to sign a series of what they referred to as ‘unequal treaties’ which forced China to open trade and allow foreigners onto its soil, initiating an era of intensive cultural exchange.
Indeed, the nuns soon came to be referred to as ‘the white devils from the West’. By the summer of 1870, the situation was particularly volatile. All sorts of rumours spread amongst the local population about the Sisters. It was said that they practised magic rituals which required the hearts and eyes of local children.
With tensions reaching boiling point, Sister Alice refused two opportunities to flee Tianjin. She seemed resigned to a fate of martyrdom. On the day that Sister Azias was fleeing, Sister Alice told her: ‘we shall never meet again in this world. You will return but we shall all be gone’.
A baying mob attacked an orphanage run by the Sisters on 21 June 1870. They ruthlessly killed anyone they came across inside. Alice had a pan of boiling water thrown over her. In agony, she managed to escape her pursuer but was soon tracked down and killed. All members of her community, along with many children from the orphanage and local converts were brutally murdered. Two of the nuns were impaled outside the main door to the orphanage while the remains of the others were set on fire.
Today, on the lawns in front of the Presentation Convent in Clonmel, where Alice went to school, stands a statue of Saint Joseph. It was donated by some of those who had come in contact with Alice and it commemorates “The Glorious Martyrdom of Sister Alice O’ Sullivan”.
Sources:
Michael Ahern, Rare Clonmel, pp 229-230.
Aine Chadwick, “Alice O’ Sullivan, Clonmel Missionary and Martyr” in Tipperary Historical Journal 2001.
