Biography.guide
Home › People › Catholic missionary › Maurice Tornay
Portrait of Maurice Tornay

Maurice Tornay

1910 – 1949

Swiss presbyter

Catholic missionaryMissionary Catholic priest
Don't just read it — keep itBiographies to ownE-book · Audio · Video From $7 →

About Maurice Tornay

Lived 1910 – 1949 (aged 38). Maurice Tornay was a Swiss catholic missionary, missionary and catholic priest.

Maurice Tornay, CRSA (31 August 1910 – 11 August 1949) was a Swiss Catholic priest of the Canons Regular of Saint Augustine – of the Hospitallers of Saint Nicholas and Grand-St-Bernard of Mont Joux branch – who served as part of the missions in China and Tibet.

He fought against anti-Catholic religious persecution in independent Tibet and was ambushed and murdered by Tibetan Buddhist monks of the Karma Kagyu sect from the Karma Gon Monastery while he travelled to Lhasa disguised as a pilgrim to appeal directly to the Dalai Lama for religious toleration to be granted to the Catholic Church in Tibet.

He was beatified on 16 May 1993 after Pope John Paul II confirmed that the late priest had been killed "in odium fidei" ('out of hatred of the faith').

Life Maurice Tornay was born in Valais in Switzerland on 31 August 1910 as the seventh of eight children to Jean-Joseph Tornay and Faustine Rossier. the Blessed's birthplace, to celebrate a local mass in his memory.

In 2021, a new chapel and a space recalling his life were dedicated to him inside the church of Orsières.

Biography shop

Don’t just read it —
keep it.

Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.

  • E-book
  • Audio
  • Video
Browse the shop — from $7

Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free

Important facts

Birth century
Occupation
Catholic missionary, missionary, Catholic priest
Nationality

People in Maurice Tornay's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Maurice Tornay's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Maurice Tornay?

Swiss presbyter (1910-1949)

When was Maurice Tornay born?

Maurice Tornay was born on 31 October 1910 in Orsières.

When did Maurice Tornay die?

Maurice Tornay died on 11 August 1949 in Tibet.

What was Maurice Tornay's occupation?

Maurice Tornay was a catholic missionary, missionary and catholic priest.

What nationality was Maurice Tornay?

Maurice Tornay was Swiss.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Maurice Tornay

· Wikidata: Q117799

· DBpedia: Maurice Tornay

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Maurice Tornay. https://biography.guide/maurice-tornay/

MLA: "Maurice Tornay." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/maurice-tornay/.

Chicago: "Maurice Tornay." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/maurice-tornay/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-23 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Portrait: Wikimedia Commons · author & licence

Page generated 2026-09-27 05:08 UTC