Francisco Lizarraga Munárriz, the beloved missionary of Changkungtsi

Arrival at the Kweiteh Mission in 1930

A native of Viguria, Navarra, Francisco Lizarraga Munárriz was born on April 1, 1906. He took his religious vows at the age of 17 in Monteagudo. Three months after being ordained a priest in Manila, he arrived at the mission with Father Pedro Colomo on September 23, 1930.

The year 1930, when Father Francisco Lizarraga arrived on the mission, was a turning point for the Kweiteh/Shangqiu mission in China. This year was marked by political instability and civil wars in China. The city of Kweiteh suffered a five-day siege, from May 15 to 19, which caused significant damage to the mission and the local population. The town of Changkungtsi, in the sub-prefecture of Ningling, was bombed for eight days, with one of the bombs falling on the mission site just over a meter from the house. These were days that sowed terror, ruin, and death in the mission. However, when peace began to be enjoyed in 1930, the missionaries devoted themselves to rebuilding what they had lost and opening new missions.

Their first mission was to study the language, with Father Mariano Alegría as their teacher. At that time, he was in charge of the mission as pro-prefect since Father Javier Ochoa, the mission prefect, was in Spain.

Changkungtsi (1932-1944)

After spending a few months in Huchiao as a cooperator, first with Father Sabino Elizondo and Father Arturo Quintanilla, he was transferred in October 1932 to Changkungtsi. In this missionary post, he would spend most of his time in China. Specifically, until August 1944. First, as a cooperator of Father Manuel Echauz, from October 1932 until April 1934, and from then on, and for ten years, as rector of the missionary post. The Christianity of Changkungtsi was one of the most flourishing and promising in the mission, even though it had suffered the ravages of the war and the bombing of the city, which put the lives of the missionaries and the faithful in danger.

In his time as a cooperator of Father Elizondo, he tells us how they organized a novena to the Virgin of Carmen, inviting the venerable Father Mariano Gazpio to direct all the sermons and catechisms. It was a complete and intense program that produced great fruits of Marian and Eucharistic devotion. In the morning, prayers, mass, and sermon; in the afternoon, rosary, exposition, and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and sermon. In addition, two hours of catechesis a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The day of the feast was crowned with the fruit of a significant number of confessions and communions and the Scapular’s imposition on many people.

The love of his people

Father Lizarraga created a deep relationship with his parishioners whom he knew well and who loved and appreciated him. He was deeply moved by the expressions of affection and appreciation shown to him on the occasion of the death of his elderly father in Spain. He received the news while passing through the central house of Kweiteh. At that time, Monsignor Ochoa, the missionaries, the nuns, novices, and seminarians, together with the Christians of Kweiteh, offered masses, communions, and prayers for the eternal suffrage of his deceased father.

Upon returning to his mission in Changkungtsi, he notified the schools of doctrine throughout his territory so that they would inform the Christians of the news of the death and the date and time of the funeral that Father Lizarraga was going to celebrate for the eternal rest of his elderly father. Let us look at the friar’s account in the missionary magazine:

I know that all of them were happy to prepare to come from some distant schools, even in carts prepared for the Christians since their tiny feet do not allow them to walk long distances; nothing, as things were, was going to turn out like one of the great celebrations; but lo and behold, the Lord arranged it differently, causing a good snowfall to fall precisely the day before the day set for the funeral, so it can be said that the celebration was stifled; even so, there was no lack of brave men of the strong sex, who, without me expecting it, making a great sacrifice, came from as far as twenty lis and a bit away (more than ten kilometers), plus those close to the mission, so that there was still a good number of attendees that, given the weather, was not expected.

But Father Francisco Lizarraga’s surprise did not stop there. In the missions of China, when a missionary’s father died, it was customary for Christians to offer Masses for his soul as a sign of gratitude for the missionary’s benefits and sacrifices. This tradition, known to the father, reaches an unexpected level of generosity.

The servants of the missionary’s house begin by giving one peso each, followed by catechists and leaders of Christian communities, who present their donations and lists of donors. Even the poorest contribute, and the total sum given to the missionary is $20.00 plus several packages of candles. This act of faith and generosity is considered worthy of admiration, especially considering the poverty of the donors. This is how Father Lizarraga expresses it:

What do you think of this? Does it not deserve to be recorded not in letters of ink but in letters of gold? I believe so, and that is why I note it as a case worthy of admiration; “a trait that is even more remarkable if one considers that all of my Christians belong not to the middle class but to the very poor, whose food depends on what they get at the market of the day. So, knowing every one of them as I do, I tried not to accept this amount, but, on the other hand, I also knew that, by not accepting it, according to their customs, I was giving them a great disservice, so, without much resistance, I received it, greatly admiring their work, with which they came to prove once again their deep-rooted faith in the Church in purgatory. This is one of the many consolations that flow from the Divine Heart of Jesus from time to time to soften the bitter chalice that the missionary is continually forced to drink. A reason that obliges us to give thanks to the Author of all good, God our Lord.

The training of catechists

Father Lizarraga took great care in preparing his catechists, calling them to the mission before the beginning of the new missionary course. He gave them instructions for several days, corrected their doctrinal misunderstandings, and guided them in spiritual exercises. Despite the difficulties with the language, he made every effort to instruct them so that the catechists were satisfied with their questions and doubts. The catechists devoted the rest of their free time to the intensive study of Christian Doctrine to prepare to demonstrate their understanding of the Christian faith through oratory exercises and exams, both oral and written that Father Lizarraga gave them. To give solemnity to the oral exams, Father Lizarraga invited another of the closest missionaries to form part of the examining board. After receiving the priest’s blessing, the catechists went to their respective posts to carry out their work during the pastoral year. 

The grace of rain in Changkungtsi

In 1940, a persistent drought was drying up the mission fields. Not a drop of water had fallen for more than half a year. The pagans invoked their gods, going so far as to pull them from their thrones and place them in courtyards and public roads to expose them to the sun’s burning rays. Seeing that this was of no use, their worshippers, in desperation, began to beat them with sticks, and there, the images of their gods were left battered on the ground. On the other hand, the Christians had been praying for rain for a long time. One day, desperate pagans begged the missionary, Father Francisco Lizarraga, to ask him and the Christians to pray to their God, who was excellent and forgiving, to see if he would deign to remedy their needs.

The father decided to make a public prayer, walking a distance of about 25 lines (12 and a half kilometers) as a penance, walking almost from one end of his mission to the other and passing through all the important villages and towns.

They prepared themselves with a triduum, with exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and holy rosary. On Saturday, the day before the procession, the Christians from the countryside arrived, all prepared for the great day with Confession and Communion. On the third day, Sunday, the last of the triduum, the Lord sent a rain, if not very abundant, enough to remove the dust from the road and refresh the atmosphere, making the penance they would impose more bearable.

At dawn, Mass was celebrated. The priest stressed the importance of the act they were going to perform, recommending that the Christians be very composed and devoted since it was necessary to edify the pagans with a good example, especially since it was the first time they were going to attend a public act of Christian worship.

After breakfast, they gathered in the church at the appointed time. All Christians and pagans prostrated with the missionary at the foot of the altar and prayed a special prayer to the Divine Heart of Jesus, offering the small sacrifice they would impose on themselves. The procession was organized with a banner of the Heart of Jesus and another of the Virgin of Carmen.

Upon entering the villages, they were received by the people and the authorities, who, to the beat of the music and the fireworks, bowed and prostrated themselves before the cross and the image of the Heart of Jesus. Father Lizarraga tells us what he felt internally at this event:

What the missionary’s heart thought and felt every time he saw and witnessed this act is not easy to say, and even less so by this poor and unskilled pen of mine, but I will say that my heart. I felt one of the greatest joys I have experienced in my ten years as a missionary in China. Upon witnessing the triumph and honor that the Heart of Jesus received publicly, I could not help but raise my humble prayer to the Lord: “Divine Heart of Jesus, accept the adoration of this unfaithful people, and, in return, bless their fields with a copious rain if it is for your glory; But above all, pour out upon their souls the torrent of your spiritual graces and with them the gift of faith, so that they may know you, serve you and love you.

Once they entered the town, they passed through the main streets with great composure and devotion, alternating along the way the rosary recitation with the litanies of the Saints, the Heart of Jesus, and the Virgin. At intervals, the children sang religious songs. Before leaving the town, they made a stop and recited the prayers of the ritual, asking for rain. After blessing the fields, they began the march again towards the next village. After eight hours of procession, the function ended at three in the afternoon. The Lord did not keep them waiting, and at dusk, the sky was very overcast, with lightning and thunder and rain that, although not very abundant, was the prelude to the one that, after four days, fell in abundance, soaking the dry fields and giving life to the plants almost at the point of perishing. Pagans and Christians saw the hand of God in this and, overflowing with joy, went to the mission to give thanks to the Giver of all good things. Many pagans used to say: “Christians truly know how to honor their God much better than we do our spirits.

Yucheng (1944-1947)

In July 1944, missionary Venancio Martínez died a holy death in Kweiteh. Father Lizarraga was appointed to fill his post and would be in charge of Yucheng until 1947. It was a difficult time for the mission due to the total external isolation caused by Japan’s entry into the World War and the subsequent international blockade of the territories occupied by Japan, among which was our mission.

Isolation and economic hardship led to situations of appalling shortages in the mission, with large masses of poor people in extreme need filling the towns and cities and creating tragic scenes of dying and dead people in the streets.

Our missionaries survived thanks to the Providence of God manifested in the generosity of Christians and even pagans, who, with great sacrifices supported by their alms, the religious who had behaved so generously and heroically towards them during the hard times of the Japanese invasion war.

Some time ago, the missionary had counted on the help and collaboration of some well-trained catechists, who, placed in the most strategic places in the district, looked after the Christians, instructed the catechumens, attracted the pagans and supplied as much as possible the lack of the missionary. However, the missionary found himself without resources in those challenging and overwhelming circumstances. It was forced, not without great pain in his heart, to dismiss all his catechists and remain alone in the entire Mission to care for the 2,000 Christians and the 298,000 pagans scattered among more than 500 villages. Hence, Father Lizarraga felt the need not to rest for a moment, travel constantly, visit all the villages, and see all his Christians as often as possible. But the condition of the roads made them impassable for most of the year, horses being the best and fastest means of travel.

For all these reasons, Francisco Lizarraga felt, like his predecessor Father Venancio Martinez, the need to acquire at least one wrong horse that would allow him to travel the countless and terrible roads of his Mission in search of the souls of his Christians, the pagans, and the dying. The members of the Christian community, despite their limited resources, came to donate the price of the horse. Still, they could not afford to maintain it, so he had to ask for help in the missionary magazine from the benefactors and collaborators of the mission:

I, even though these sums frighten me and although in Kweiteh they close the doors to me also due to lack of resources, I cannot do without this purchase, feeling so closely the needs of my Christian communities and countless souls of Christians and even of pagans. I trust in the Lord and that in our beloved Spain, all these generous souls will help me, and with their alms, we will be able to satisfy this need and properly care for my Christian communities. You see how our Christians help few and generally the poorest in resources. I am delighted with all of them because in the two years I have been here, I can say that I have lived off their alms, even though they were drowning in contributions.

Rector of the seminary and master of novices and professed (1947-1948)

After Japan surrendered in February 1946, the definitive abolition of the legal figure of the religious protectorate of France was finally achieved. This allowed China and the Vatican to establish bilateral relations. On April 11, 1946, Pope Pius XII legally established the Chinese Church, elevating all the apostolic vicariates to the status of dioceses.

In 1947, the resignation of Monsignor Ochoa as bishop of Kweiteh (Shangqiu) was accepted, and Father Lizarraga was included in the list of candidates for his successor in the episcopate. However, he was not finally elected to the post. At that same time, Father Joaquín Peña had to leave the mission due to illness, and it was Father Lizarraga who would take up his duties as rector of the seminary and master of novices and professed.

In 1948, the decisive stage of the war between the nationalist government and the communists began, which definitively tipped the balance of victory in favor of the latter.

In March 1948, the provincial prior made the canonical visit. Due to the great danger of the communists and the difficulty of communications, seeing that it was not prudent for him to go on the mission, he ordered a religious delegation to go to Shanghai as a representative. The religious who arrived in Shanghai were Fathers Mariano Gazpio, Francisco Lizarraga, and Luis Arribas. The provincial was greatly concerned about the fate of the Chinese seminarians, so he consulted with the religious who had come from the mission about the resolution to be taken in those circumstances so that they could continue their ecclesiastical studies in peace. It was decided that all the religious formations be transferred to the missionary college of the Dominican Fathers in Hong Kong, leaving the diocesan ones in the major seminary of Kaifeng. For this reason, the religious seminarians would leave the mission accompanied by some friars. They would join Father Lizarraga in Shanghai, who would leave with them for Hong Kong, making a short stop on the island of Taiwan.

In 1949, he returned to Spain, first residing in Monteagudo and then becoming a discipline teacher in Lodosa. In 1951, he was assigned to Mexico where he was a teacher of novices and pontifical delegate of the Augustinian Recollect nuns. He returned to Spain, where he was vicar of the Province (1961-1967), residing in Madrid. During these years, he served as a religious assistant to the Discalced Augustinians. From 1967 to 1979, he lived in the parish of Santa Rita in Madrid. After a year in which he resided at the Saint Nicholas of Tolentine School in Fuenterrabía (Guipúzcoa), he was assigned to Monteagudo in 1980, where he remained until he died in 1998 at 92.