Blessed Martyrs of Laos

Life story

The group comes from two separate causes. One is Father Mario Borzaga, an Italian priest of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, born on 27 August 1932 in Trent, with the Hmong catechist Paj Lug Thoj, born around 1941. Both were killed in April 1960 at Kiukatiam in the Luang Prabang area.

The second is a group of fifteen: priests of the Paris Foreign Missions Society such as Jean-Baptiste Malo, René Dubroux, Noël Tenaud, Marcel Denis and Lucien Galan; Oblate priests such as Louis Leroy, Michel Coquelet, Vincent l'Hénoret, Jean Wauthier and Joseph Boissel; the Lao priest Joseph Thao Tien; and Lao lay people including Joseph Outhay Phongphumi, Thomas Khampheuane Inthirath, Luc Sy and Maisam Pho Inpeng.

They were killed in varied circumstances in different parts of Laos between 1954 and 1970, as the Pathet Lao movement increased its control of the country and religious activity was restricted. Sources for individuals are uneven, and in some cases the story is known only from survivors or villagers.

The whole group was beatified on 11 December 2016 at Vientiane cathedral, with Cardinal Orlando Quevedo presiding on behalf of Pope Francis. Their shared feast is 16 December.

Works and witness

• Mario Borzaga and Paj Lug Thoj killed in April 1960
• Fifteen others, French and Lao priests and lay people, killed from 1954 to 1970
• Most were missionaries of the Paris Foreign Missions Society and the Oblates
• Beatified on 11 December 2016 at Vientiane

Saints from the same country

Saint Peter, Saint Paul, Saint Mark, Saint Luke

References

• Decree of martyrdom approved by Pope Francis for the Martyrs of Laos (2016)
• Holy See Press Office, beatification at Vientiane, 11 December 2016
• Missionaries of Mary Immaculate and Paris Foreign Missions Society records

Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.