All Saints’ Day, celebrated every November 1, is a solemn feast in the Catholic Church dedicated to all the saints, known and unknown, who now live in God’s eternal presence.
It honors not only the canonized but also the countless unnamed holy men and women who lived faithfully and quietly, their names known only to God.
The tradition dates back to the early centuries of Christianity, when the Church commemorated martyrs who died for their faith. By the ninth century, Pope Gregory IV extended the feast to the whole Church, designating November 1 as the day to celebrate all saints together.
All Saints’ Day reminds believers that holiness is not reserved for a select few in stained glass but is a universal call. Every baptized person is invited to live a life of faith, love, and service, to become a saint in their own ordinary way.
The saints are the Church’s living heritage, each reflecting a facet of God’s light. There is St. Anthony of Padua, whom we call upon when something goes missing; St. Expeditus, patron of those who seek swift help; and St. Jude, intercessor for impossible causes.
Even the saints have had their controversies, St. Christopher, long revered by travelers, and St. Philomena, once a favorite of 19th-century devotees, were both subjects of historical debate about their authenticity. Yet the Church’s love for them endures, not for their legends, but for what they awaken in us: faith, courage, and trust.
Even today, travelers carry a small figurine of St. Christopher for a safe and smooth journey, while Catholic parents often name their daughters Philomena, after the beloved saint deeply venerated by St. John Vianney.
Saints from Asia
From Asia, we remember St. Lorenzo Ruiz of the Philippines, who died rather than renounce his faith in Japan; St. Andrew Kim Taegon, the first Korean priest martyred alongside thousands of lay believers; and St. Magdalena of Nagasaki, who bore witness in the face of torture. Their stories remind Asian Catholics that sainthood is not distant or foreign, it has Asian faces, Asian hearts, and Asian hope.
Closer to home stands the proud legacy of the College General Seminary in Penang, Asia’s oldest seminary, which recently marked its 360th anniversary. Nearly 50 students and formators from this historic institution became martyrs. Among them were French saints Bishop Laurent Imbert and Father Jacques-Honoré Chastan, both from the Paris Foreign Missions Society, who died in Korea during the persecution of Christians between 1835 and 1843.
Also remembered are the Vietnamese martyrs, Father Philip Minh and companions Peter Quy, Paul Loc, John Hoan, and Peter Nguyen, who studied at College General and were executed in Vietnam in 1853. Their monument still stands tall on the seminary grounds, a reminder of ordinary men who touched the world in extraordinary ways.
Legend has it that when Philip Minh was ordered to trample on the crucifix and renounce his faith, he steadfastly refused. Peter Quy fasted and prayed in prison, clutching a small statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary until the sword came down upon him. Paul Loc refused to deny his faith, while John Hoan knelt to thank God for the “test of faith” as the executioner raised his blade. Another companion, Peter Nguyen, recited the rosary defiantly, his “Hail Marys” growing louder until the sword silenced him in one savage blow.
Saints in Waiting
Another former seminarian, Blessed Nicholas Bunkerd Kitbamrung, a Thai priest, died in 1944 from tuberculosis contracted in prison after being falsely accused of espionage. Beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2000, he became Thailand’s first martyr declared Blessed for dying ex aerumnis carceris, from the hardships of incarceration.
Known as a gifted catechist and linguist fluent in Thai, Latin, and Hakka, Nicholas was revered for building bridges between Catholics and Buddhists in a land where Christianity was distrusted. Arrested for ringing the church bell, misinterpreted as a signal to the enemy, he endured ten years in Bangkok’s harsh Bang Khwang Prison. There, he baptized 68 inmates, prayed with prisoners of all faiths, and consoled those awaiting execution. Denied treatment because of his faith, he died a martyr of compassion and endurance.
A Living Legacy
Cardinal Sebastian Francis, Bishop of Penang, an alumnus and president of College General, reflected in an interview with RVA: “We have the proud legacy of more than 50 martyrs who were trained and formed at College General. Their martyrdom has had a lasting and permanent impact on me. It is deeply imprinted in me that so many brothers from College General surrendered their lives for the Gospel.”
He recalled one of his contemporaries from the 1970s, a Cambodian seminarian named Marcel Truang, who, after completing his studies in Penang, chose to return to his war-torn homeland during the Khmer Rouge genocide.
“He freely chose to be with his suffering and persecuted people, despite knowing the dangers,” said the Cardinal. “Within a short time, we never heard from him again. His cause is now up for canonization in Cambodia.”
“This is the kind of sacrificial spirit,” he added, “we hope to cultivate in all seminarians studying for the diocesan priesthood in Malaysia.”
A Malaysian Witness of Faith
The communion of saints is not bound by time or geography. In our own land, another courageous woman stands among these witnesses, Sybil Kathigasu, the wartime nurse from Ipoh who defied the Japanese occupation by secretly tending to wounded resistance fighters.
Arrested and tortured for her compassion, she refused to betray those she helped.
Sybil wrote her moving memoir No Dram of Mercy. She died in 1948 from injuries sustained during imprisonment.
Today, the Church in Malaysia (Diocese of Penang) is studying her life for possible sainthood. Like the martyrs of old, Sybil bore witness not with weapons or titles but with mercy, courage, and unbroken faith. Her story reminds us that sainthood can rise even from our own soil, and that holiness often begins with a simple act of love in the face of fear.
