Martyrs of Thailand
Encyclopedia
The Martyrs of Thailand
(called also Seven Blessed Martyrs of Songkhon) are seven Roman Catholic Thai
s executed in Songkhon, Thailand
in December 1940 by local police forces. They were beatified
by Pope John Paul II
in Rome
on October 22, 1989.
The names of the martyrs are:
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
(called also Seven Blessed Martyrs of Songkhon) are seven Roman Catholic Thai
Thai people
The Thai people, or Siamese, are the main ethnic group of Thailand and are part of the larger Tai ethnolinguistic peoples found in Thailand and adjacent countries in Southeast Asia as well as southern China. Their language is the Thai language, which is classified as part of the Kradai family of...
s executed in Songkhon, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
in December 1940 by local police forces. They were beatified
Beatification
Beatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name . Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process...
by Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
on October 22, 1989.
The names of the martyrs are:
- Blessed Philip Siphong Onphitak, catechist, 33 years old
- Blessed Sister Agnes Phila, 31 years old, belonged to Lovers of the Holy CrossLovers of the Holy CrossThe Lovers of the Holy Cross is a Roman Catholic female congregation, founded in 1670 by the first vicar Apostolic in Tong-king and Cochin China Pierre Lambert de la Motte...
Congregation - Blessed Sister Lucia Khambang, 23 years old, belonged to Lovers of the Holy Cross Congregation
- Blessed Agatha Phutta, 59 years old
- Blessed Cecilia Butsi, 16 years old
- Blessed Bibiana Khampai, 15 years old
- Blessed Maria Phon, 14 years old
Letter of Sister Agnes Phila to the police before the execution
To the Chief Police in Songkhon
Yesterday evening you received your order to wipe out, definitely, the Name of God, the Only Lord of our lives and minds. We adore Him only, Sir. A few days earlier, you had mentioned to us that you would not wipe out the Name of God and we were rather pleased with that in such a way that we put away our religious habits which showed that we were His handmaids. But it not so today. We do profess that the religion of Christ is the only true religion. Therefore, we would like to give our answer to your question, asked yesterday evening which we did not have a chance to respond because we were unprepared for it. Now we would like to give you our answer. We are asking you to carry out your order with us. Please do not delay any longer. Please carry out your order. Please open the door of heaven to us so that we can confirm that outside the Religion of Christ no none can go to heaven. Please do it. We are well prepared. When we will be gone we will remember you. Please take pity on our souls. We will be thankful to you and will be grateful to you for it. And on the last day we will see each other face to face.
Do wait and see, please. We keep your commands, oh God, we wish to be witnesses to You, dear God. We are: Agnes, Lucia, Phuttha, Budsi, Buakhai, Suwan. We would like to bring little Phuma along with us because we love her so much. We have already made up our minds, dear Sir.