May 11th this year will be the 400th anniversary of the death of Matteo Ricci, the great Jesuit missionary. “Li Madou” (his Chinese name) died and was buried in Beijing , an honour rarely given to foreigners. 

Father MatteoRicci was born in Macerata on 6 October 1552 and soon heard the call to a missionary vocation that made him ask to be posted to the missions in the Far East . While preparing for his Oriental apostolate and before he was ordained priest, he spent some years teaching  in Jesuit schools. Next he travelled to Macau where he started learning Chinese to prepare to enter China ,  a country that had always been quite inhospitable towards foreigners. By 1585 the first house and church of his Jesuit community had been built and Father Matteo Ricci started delving into Chinese life with a profound respect for the local religion - Confucianism - and for the Chinese cultural legacy. He strived to be Chinese with the Chinese and hoped to create a genuine dialogue both with the Chinese dignitaries and the ordinary people. Also he was a rare example of how scientific genius and Christian faith can combine. The Emperor of the Ming dynasty promoted Father Ricci to the rank of Mandarin and presented him with the Celestial Empire honour. He took to China Western mathematics and, geography, cartography and astronomy. He taught a number of scientific and humanistic subjects in Chinese, and left a host of works that were essential to the foundation of modern Sinology and the circulation of Western knowledge in China. To honour the memory of Li Madou the local administrators of the Marches have  offered some of the top local venues, such as the Palazzo Ducale in Urbino and the Sferisterio Arena in Macerata, to host massive acts, exhibits and performances.