Tombstone marks sacrifice by Dutch priest in Chinese village

The Dutch foreign ministry also then assigned a professor to investigate his early life. He found that there were no relatives alive, but a bishop then aged 94 who had known Father Hu remembered his story and said: "He was a brave and courageous man."

Van Heel was born in 1907 in Leiden, and came to China in 1933.

He learned Chinese in Luzhou, Shanxi, before joining the Shitou Geda Catholic church in 1936.

The church, which was built by Western missionaries in 1917, operated schools for boys and girls. And he was the third priest to be posted to the area.

The church was shut in 1949, and was demolished in 1985 to provide building materials for public infrastructure in the county.

The church was reopened in 1986 in caves neighboring the old site of the church.

In his statement marking the renovation of the tomb, the former Dutch ambassador writes: "It is with great satisfaction that now－110 years after his birth－a fitting memorial has been established to remember this courageous Dutchman, who gave his life to protect the Chinese people against a foreign aggressor. It marks another proud page in the long history of the relations between the people of China and the Netherlands."

Le Yongyue, the current priest in the church, who has been working there for 19 years, often goes to the hill to sweep the tomb.

He say: "Father Hu gave his life to protect the Chinese people. He is a role model for me."

Contact the writers through liyang@chinadaily.com.cn