Hinderer, Roman

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HINDERER, ROMAN

Missionary and cartographer; b. Reiningen, Alsace, Sept. 21, 1669; d. Changzhou, China, Aug. 26, 1744. He entered the Society of Jesus in Mainz, Sept. 29, 1686. His first task after his arrival in China in 1707 was to work with other Jesuits at the order of the Emperor Kangxi in a mapping expedition to several provinces. Afterward, the emperor wanted him at court because of his mathematical talents, but he was allowed to preach Christianity throughout the empire: Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Guangdong, Yunnan, and Shanxi. He was austere in his personal life and had a great devotion to the Sacred Heart, to which he attributed his apostolic success. He was visitor of the missions in China, Japan, and Tonkin in 1722 and 1730, difficult times for missions. He wrote works in Chinese on the Rosary and on the Mass.

Bibliography: l. pfister, Notices biographiques et bibliographiques, 2 v. (Shanghai 193234). j. dehergne, Catholicisme 5:752753.

[b. lahiff]