Once the tragic episode was over, María, one of the three young women, would give her testimony: “I saw that Don Caravario, with his head bowed, was speaking in a low voice with the bishop” – the Salesians were confessing to each other, after having suffered a brutal beating. for defending the hostages. Then María asserted: “The bishop and Don Caravario looked at us, pointed to the sky with their eyes and prayed. Their appearance was kind and serene, and they prayed aloud.”
The pirates, after kidnapping the girls and the missionaries, had headed towards their hiding place. On the way they put the girls out of the sight of the priest and the bishop. A few minutes later five shots were heard. Then they heard the pirates comment intrigued: “Everyone is afraid of death. On the contrary, these two have died happy.” It was February 25, 1930.
Days later, members of the Chinese army arrived at the caves where the bandits were taking refuge, who had fled, leaving their hostages alive. María, Paula and Clara were rescued safely by the military. The pirates had done nothing to them. They, while they were kidnapped, only remained praying on their knees next to the bodies of both martyrs, who had given their lives to defend them.
Meanwhile, the bodies of Saint Louis Versiglia and Saint Calixto Caravario were found nearby. These would be transferred to give them Christian burial.