Celebrating the Saints From Asia and the Pacific Islands

Predating them was the French Marist priest Peter Chanel, martyred on the South Pacific island of Futuna in 1841, who was canonized in 1954. There is a rich history of Asian and Pacific Islander Catholic saints. On the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website, the document “Asian and Pacific Presence: Harmony in Faith” outlines the significant impact of the faith on the third largest group of color in our church. USCCB presents a litany of native saints who were martyred for the faith in Asia and the Pacific: