Saints of Asia: 1500 to the Present

Millions of Catholics populate the Philippines and India, while Asian and Pacific Island Catholics in the U.S.A represent ever-increasing proportions, and the worldwide Church is reaping the benefits.

Relative to the rather recent introduction of Catholicism, Asia has a high number of saints, most of them martyrs. Among the heroic stories of the holy men and women in Asia are Andrew Dung Lac An Tran, and Saint Paul Miki, S.J., who was reported to have said his position on the cross was the noblest pulpit he had ever filled. After being crucified, he and twenty-five other martyrs were systematically slain by a sword that pieced their hearts.

Besides the official martyrs, approximately thirty thousand Chinese Catholics were killed during the two-month Boxer Rebellion in China in 1900. Also told are stories of those well-known saints who ministered extensively on the continent, including Francis Xavier and Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.

The number of Catholics has burgeoned across Asia in recent centuries, yet persecution against the property and lives of Catholics and Christians continues to this day.