This page is a list of saints,blesseds,
venerables, and
Servants of Godfrom 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:
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.
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)
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)
This page is a list of saints,blesseds,
venerables, and
Servants of Godfrom 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:
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.
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)
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)