List of saints from Asia

Martyrs of Nagasaki (1628 engraving)

This page is a list of saints, blesseds, venerables, and Servants of God from Asia, as recognized by the Catholic Church. These people were born, died, or lived their religious life in any of the states or territories of Asia.

Since Christianity began in Asia, the first Christians were Asians, and Biblical figures of the Old Testament considered to be saints also spent all or most of their lives in the Holy Land. While Catholicism has waxed and waned in various parts of the continent, it has had a continuous presence there into the twenty-first century.

Saints in early times

Due to the rise of Islam and the schisms leading to the establishment of Nestorian, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox churches, the Asian saints of times before the modern era are largely concentrated in the area of the Holy Land and the time of the Roman Empire. Christianity reached as far as China and India. The following is a very partial list of those Asian-connected saints traditionally recognized by Rome.

Popes

Nine of the early popes are said to have been Asian. Three of these (Popes Constantine, John V, and John VI) have not been traditionally considered saints. The other five are:

  • Peter (r. 30–67)
  • Evaristus (r. 99–107)
  • Anicetus (r. 157–168)
  • Theodore I (r. 642–649)
  • Gregory III (r. 731–741)

In addition, Pope Sergius I was born to Syrian immigrants living in Sicily.

One pope died in Asia: Pope Agapetus I (r. 535–536).

Apostles

All the apostles were Asians, and many of them lived and died in Asia.

Doctors

Seven of the thirty-five Doctors of the Church were from Asia, all of them from this time period. They are:

Writers and theologians

Many of the early writers and theologians had connections with Asia. A partial list would include:

Others

In addition to the categories above, these first centuries gave the Church many other saints, among them:

Modern times

After the canonization of saints came to be reserved to the Papacy around AD 1000, and especially after the establishment of the Congregation of Rites in 1588, the list of official saints with Asian connections is more clear.

List of saints

The following is the list of saints, including the year in which they were canonized and the country or countries with which they are associated.

List of blesseds

List of venerables

List of Servants of God

  • Akash Bashir, security guard, martyr (Pakistan)
  • Jerónima Yañez de la Fuente, professed religious of the Poor Clare Nuns (Philippines)
  • Xu Guangqi, scholar-official, scientist (China)
  • Flavian LaPlante, priest of the Congregation of the Holy Cross (Bangladesh)
  • Thomas Cooray, cardinal, archbishop of Colombo (Sri Lanka)
  • Marcel Nguyễn Tân Văn, Redemptorist lay brother (Vietnam)
  • Carlo Braga, professed priest of the Salesians of Don Bosco (Philippines)
  • François-Xavier Nguyễn Văn Thuận, bishop, cardinal, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace (Vietnam)
  • Theotonius Amal Ganguly, archbishop of Dhaka (Bangladesh)
  • Francesco Palliola, Jesuit priest (Philippines)
  • Alfredo Verzosa, bishop of Lipa, titular bishop of Capsa, founder (Philippines)
  • Darwin Ramos, layman (Philippines)
  • Nicolaas Kluiters, Jesuit priest (Lebanon)
  • Fathi Baladi, young layperson of the Archeparchy of Beirut and Byblos of the Melkites; martyr (Lebanon)
  • Giovanni Battista Adami, professed priest of the Jesuits; martyr (Japan)
  • Giovanni Battista Sidotti, priest of the Archdiocese of Palermo; Apostolic Vicar of Japan and Chōsuke and Haru, laypersons of the Archdiocese of Tokyo; martyrs (Japan)
  • Ibrahim Addai Scher and 27 companion martyrs of the Assyrian-Chaldean-Syriac Genocide, archeparchs, eparchs, priests, catechumens, and laypersons of the Archeparchy of Urmia; priests of the Congregation of the Mission (Vincentians); Mmartyrs (Iraq-Iran)
  • Cecilia Moshe Hanna, professed religious of the Daughters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Chaldeans); martyr (Iraq)
  • Ragheed Aziz Ganni, Basman Yousef Daud Al-Yousef, Wahid Hanna Isho, and Gassan Isam Bidawed, priest and subdeacons of the Archeparchy of Mosul of the Chaldeans; martyrs (Iraq)
  • Isabelle Abdullah El-Khoury, founder and renovator of the Antonine Sisters (Lebanon)
  • Richard Michael Fernando (Richie), professed cleric of the Jesuits; martyr (Philippines-Cambodia)
  • Helena Perera [Charithaya], layperson of the Diocese of Chilaw (Sri Lanka)
  • Clement Shahbaz Bhatti, married layperson of the Archdiocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi; martyr (Pakistan)
  • Thayr Saidālla Abdāl and 44 companions, priests and layfaithful of the Archeparchy of Baghdad and Beirut of the Syrians; martyrs (Iraq)
  • Joseph Chhmar Salas (1937–1977) and 34 companions (d. 1971–78), Bishop of Phnom Penh; priests of the Paris Foreign Mission Society and of the Dioceses from Cambodia along with lay companions from various Apostolic Vicariates (Vietnam, Cambodia)
  • Pietro Manghisi (1889–1953), priest of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions; Martyr (Myanmar)
  • Ioannes Baptista Yi Byeok and 132 companions (d. 1785–1879), laypeople from the Apostolic Vicariate of South Korea; martyrs (S. Korea-N. Korea)
  • Henri (Benoit Thuân) Denis (1880–1933), professed priest of the Cistercians (Holy Family Congregation) (Vietnam)
  • Carlo Della Torre (1900-1982), professed priest, Salesians of Don Bosco (Thailand)
  • Pierre Lambert De La Motte (1624-1679), founder, Paris Foreign Missions Society, titular bishop of Berytus, apostolic vicar of Cochin (Thailand)

Other open causes

Others have been proposed for beatification, and may have active groups supporting their causes. These include:

  • Paul Xakan Keobunkuang, seminarian of the archdiocese of Thare-Nongseng (Thailand)
  • Émile Levrel, priest of the Paris Foreign Missions Society (Thailand)
  • Louis Heimo, priest of the Society of the Auxiliaries of the Missions (Thailand)
  • Gerard A. Donovan, Maryknoll priest and martyr (China)[1]
  • Richardus Kardis Sandjaja, priest and martyr (Indonesia)[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ [1]The Scranton Times-Tribune
  2. ^ "Indonesian pilgrims find answers at martyred priest's tomb - UCA News".
  • "Hagiography Circle"
  • O'Malley, Vincent J. (2007). Saints of Asia. Our Sunday Visitor. ISBN 978-1-59276-173-9.
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