Marie-Hermine of Jesus

Saint Marie-Hermine of Jesus (1866-1900, born Irma Grivot) was a French nun and Mother Superior who died for her faith in China during the Boxer Rebellion and was canonised in 2000. She is one of the group known as the Martyr Saints of China who were canonised by Pope John Paul II 1 October 2000. 
She was born Irma Grivot on 28 April 1866 in Beaune, France, and joined the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary in a prenovitiate in 1894 at Vanves and then her novitiate at Le Châtelet. In 1899 she was the mother superior of a group of seven sisters from the order who left Marseilles on 12 May 1899. They went to Taiyuan, China, arriving on 4 May 1899, to set up an orphanage at the mission there under bishop Gregorio Grassi. The seven nuns were from France, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands. 
On 27 June 1900 the level of threat appeared imminent and the Bishops advised that the nuns should change into local clothes and escape. As Mother Superior she is reported to have protested that the nuns should not be denied the sacrifice of dying for their faith and that they should be allowed to stay.
On 5 July 1900, during the Boxer Rebellion, the Christians at the mission were ordered to renounce their faith or face death; at 4pm on 9 July the priests, nuns, seminarians and Christian lay workers were all killed, in what is known as the Taiyuan massacre. Marie-Hermine was beatified by Pope Pius XII on 24 November 1946 and canonised by Pope John Paul II on 1 October 2000 as one of a group of 120 Martyr Saints of China. 