Auguste Chapdelaine was a 19th-century French Catholic priest and missionary belonging to the Paris Foreign Missions Society. Born in La Rochelle-Normande, he traveled to China in 1852 to serve the mission in Guangxi province. During a period of intense local suspicion toward foreigners, he was arrested in 1856 and executed by Chinese officials. His death became a significant diplomatic event, serving as a justification for French involvement in the Second Opium War. He is recognized as a saint in the Catholic Church.