In this 17th-century painting, the Jesuit martyrs of Nagasaki are shown with St Francis Xavier, the great Jesuit missionary to the Far East. (Lawrence OP, CC 2.0 via Flickr)
CHURCH SOCIAL TIPS
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. It is also the month when we celebrate the feast day of the first saint from Hawaii, St. Damien de Veuster, on May 10.
St. Damien was born in Belgium, not the Pacific islands, so technically he wasn’t a Pacific islander saint. But his devotion to native Hawaiians earned him the embrace of ohana. He personified Jesus’ words, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” The second saint from Hawaii is, of course, St. Marianne Cope. Now there is a canonization cause for a third Molokai adoptee, Joseph Dutton.
Predating them was the French Marist priest Peter Chanel, martyred on the South Pacific island of Futuna in 1841, who was canonized in 1954.
There is a rich history of Asian and Pacific Islander Catholic saints. On the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website, the document “Asian and Pacific Presence: Harmony in Faith” outlines the significant impact of the faith on the third largest group of color in our church.
USCCB presents a litany of native saints who were martyred for the faith in Asia and the Pacific:
“From India, Gonsalo Garcia was canonized in 1629 and John de Brito in 1947. More recently, Pope John Paul II beatified Blessed Joseph Vaz in 1995.
“From Japan the heroic witness of St. Paul Miki and his companions, including Gracia Hosakawa, Ludivico Ibaragi, Michael Kozaki, and Takayama Ukon, have been honored by the Church.
“The Church in Korea suffered more than 10,000 martyrdoms. In 1984, Pope John Paul II canonized 103 martyrs in Seoul. Outstanding among those saints are St. Andrew Kim Taegon, the first native Korean priest, and Chung Hasang and Kim Hyoim, who were heroic lay leaders.
“The Philippines’ first martyr, San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila, was canonized in 1987. Catechist Pedro Calungsod was beatified in 2000.
“It is estimated that more than 130,000 Vietnamese Catholics died for Christ’s sake during persecutions from 1625 to 1886. On June 19, 1988, Pope John Paul II canonized 117 of them, including St. Andrew Dung Lac, St. Phanxico Xavier Can, St. Vincent Diem, St. Phaolo Le Bao Tinh, St. Phero Nguyen Khac Tu, and a woman, St. Agnes Le Thi Thanh. On March 5, 2000, Blessed Andrew the Catechist was beatified by Pope John Paul II in Rome.
“Also on March 5, 2000, Blessed Nicholas Bunlert Kitbamrung, the Thai Church’s first martyr priest, was beatified.
“From China, 120 martyrs were canonized by Pope John Paul II on October 1, 2000. Of these, thirty-three were foreign missionaries and eighty-seven were native Chinese, including Ahan Wen Lan, Pei Xio, Zhan Da Pun, Liu Shui Tin, Cao Gul Ying, Liu Wen Yuen, and Liu Han Zhou.
“Among the many Eastern Catholic martyrs and saints are Blessed Mary of Jesus Crucified, born of a Syrian family in Galilee, who was beatified in 1983; Blessed Joseph Kassab Hardini, who was beatified in 1998; and from India, Blessed Kuriakose Elias Chavara and Blessed Alphonsa Muttathupadath, who were beatified in 1986, and St. Marian Theresia, who was canonized in April 2000.”
Let us honor the legacy of Asian and Pacific Islander Catholics who have died for defending the faith. May they inspire all of us to be better models of our faith and to pray for their intercession in ending the current wave of #AAPIHate in our world.
As San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone said in 2021, “We will pray for an end to violence and racism particularly against Asians, for healing for our nation, and for the flourishing of peace and justice in our land.”
Sherry Hayes-Peirce is a Catholic social media consultant based in California.
