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Martyrs |
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Sr. Agnes Phila
(1909-1940),
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“You can kill us, but not the Church and God.” The persecution of Catholics as described here took place in December 1940 at the Thai village Songkhon on the Maekhong River. Everything started with the dismissal of the priests from the village so that the community and the school from then on were taken care of by the catechist Philip Siphong, the Sisters Agnes and Lucia from the Congregation of Lovers of the Holy Cross, as well as the women Agatha, Cecilia, Bibiana and Maria. On December 16, 1940 Philip Siphong was persuaded to leave the village under the false pretence of a letter from the Sheriff of Mukhadon and, once outside the village, he was shot. This crime terrified the nuns, however, they continued to run the school and looked after the Catholic community. The police terrorized the villagers not only by shooting into the air, but also by shooting directly at people. When one policeman noticed that the nuns taught catechism to the children, he threatened them, “I will kill you all, if you don’t stop talking about God as you are doing now.” Sr. Agnes asked him if the police had enough guns and bullets in order to do that. That evening the sisters prepared the children to die a martyr’s death and to pray for perseverance in the faith. Beforehand they sent coconut oil to the police so that they could grease the guns! In a letter Sr. Agnes informed the police that there was nobody who could prohibit them from proclaiming Christ. The next evening on December 26, 1940 – the high feast of St. Steven, the first martyr – the nuns and children were escorted to the cemetery. When the inhabitants of Songkhon saw what was happening, they joined them. The police tried in vain to separate the sisters from the rest. Eventually the nuns themselves stepped aside. Before dying, Sr. Agnes told the police, “You can kill us, but not the Church and God. One day the Church will return to Thailand and it will blossom more than ever before.” The
corpses were thrown into graves in pairs without respect of person.
On October 22, 1989 the Holy Father proclaimed them beatified: the
catechist Philip Siphong, 33; Sr. Agnes Phila, 31; Sr. Lucia Khambang,
23; Agatha Putta, 59; Cecilia Butsi, 16; Bibiane Khampai, 15 und
Marie Phorn, 14. |
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