Talk:List of Filipino Catholic saints and beatified people

Article title

The title should be revised to "Filipino Catholic Saints, Blessed, and Servants of God". Obviously, they are all Catholics. There has to be a qualifier as not all religions in the country believes "sainthood" the way the Roman Catholics look at it. Mamertz9! (talk) 13:52, 19 November 2009 (UTC)

Religious Martyrs of Santo Tomas

Regarding the fate of the sisters in Santo Tomas, I found the following letter on my mother, who was a niece of Sister Benedicta (Paula) Diancourt.

Report on what is happening in Sto. Tomas Batangas, Philippines.

Mid-1944 the conditions in Manila were becoming harder and harder, especially the food issue. More and more Japanese troops were drawn into Manila together. We had to leave our Provinzialhaus in Manila, Grace Park, the army June 1944. In July, a part of the Holy Ghost College was occupied by the army. By the authority of suggested the population of Manila to settle in the province. Who could do it, did it. Our stations in the province offered to take up in sisters. So, some sisters in the Middle stations in Manila could move Malolos and Sto Tomas to be there so long to remain until it was better again in Manila. Starting in October, it was becoming increasingly difficult to buy anything in the market. End of November and December, nothing at all was to have. Some times we tried in the province of rice was sweet potatoes and vegetables to obtain, but only a few times, then was no transportation. Manila has been fixed. With zeal, shelters, etc. were built. The College allocated any free seats for the military. Mid-September visit to the flyer began for half an hour and soon every day. They came more and more often, more and more. It was raining shrapnel and bullets. Only military sites were attacked, that is why we were very afraid, because we had ja Japanese soldiers in the House. Manila was increasingly being included. More, we had no connection with our sister stations. So was Christmas, new year's - it already news came, the liberation would be close, but one could believe it? New shelters were built. Our garden wall was a large trench. The prices were in the thousands. It was only more war money and everyone knew it could become worthless overnight. So almost nothing was sold. If you had in the last few days on the road, hit many starved. You could not help, there were too many. We had 80 sisters College and a number of refugees. If I had to go out, I was always glad that I was hungry too. People had also pity us because they knew that it was even more difficult for us because we were so many. End of January the situation changed at once. The military seemed most to leave the city. Manila is divided into two parts by the Pasig River. Earlier this not so noticed, as a number of bridges connecting the two parts. Now it was military border. The northern part, where our school is located, was gradually cleared. On the second of February, the last soldiers, who were still in the College should leave the House. It lasted but until the evening, 25 cars and trucks stood ready for departure. Just wanted to take on the road as was audible from outside strong shooting. It was at once an excitement, we didn't know what it was. At one time it was said that American tanks were just the temporary drive. We could see it well. The Japanese military has been quiet from the dust. All cars etc. remained standing in the garden. How close was God's protection in these minutes – it would come to a fight we all would no longer. Our College is very close to the river and is the neighbour of the Philippine Government building. So far, the city was able to occupy this evening. In the night, and in the next few days, the bridges and department stores were blown up. At once, the whole city was on fire. The retreating troops did this. It was terrible in the nights and not much less on the day. Day and night whizzed the bullet in the air. And this no water in the city, also the water system was destroyed. Also here, the good Lord protected us. Many projectiles and shrapnel fell on us. Our houses were full of holes and it took a man's life. One of our workers was hit and died instantly. You can write many pages of threats where it only just passed. Thanks for that was God much thousand. It was followed by heavy, now bloody days. Almost the entire city was set on fire; the fire came up in our close proximity. It came an order from Japan to make the civilian population low. So it was called death for all. There were terrible days, especially for southern Manila, where the Japanese had entrenched themselves. More I will not write now of it, because I wanted to report on Santo Tomas.

Sto Tomas is a small village south of Manila. A branch with school had our sisters there for twenty years. In recent years, where eight sisters were stationed. The good sister Passima was headmistress there, then the good Sisters of Placida, Isburga, Cesaria, Gumberta, Aloysius, Benedicta, and Victimaria were there. Since October, the good sisters, Adelheida, Fransiszetta, Ansberta, Celia, Geophana, Richarde and Bernia resided there from the College. End of December the sisters had built a shed in the garden, five meters long and two meters wide, Horseshoe bend. Under the root of a tree, they had a ¾ of metre high iron Wardrobe (safe), which was prepared as a Tabernacle for the Holy of Holies. You had everything you need in the dugout, bench buddy, ground-breaking etc. It was the 11th of February, the feast of our Lady of Lourdes. The people sent on to Holy Mass to go. The Reverend Father no longer stayed in Sto Tomas, he fled already, like most men, but he wanted to come to the Holy Mass. All the people who were going to the Church, all on the road and in homes, men, women, girls and small children were stabbed with a bayonet, 6000 in Sto Tomas alone, mostly women and children. The Japanese also came to the sisters, the sisters they did nothing, but they brought the workers and later killed them. The housemaid, who were still with the sisters, hid behind statues, later they fled. Since the Japanese were temporarily in town, it seemed the sisters probably not as dangerous, although no one except the Sisters was in the city. Some times people to the sisters slipped to bring them something. The sisters thought probably to leave Sto Tomas, but there was the danger that they were shot during the escape, they remained so. You probably not suspected that the city will bombed. Middle of March the American clashed in Sto Tomas with the Japanese troops and resulted in the attack. Now, Sto Tomas is only a debris field. Beginning April we heard rumors of the terrible events. The traffic was still cut off. We had to wait. It was basically free, two girls came and told that the sisters all were dead, they would have been in Sto Tomas and wept bitterly. Next day, two sisters went with two workers and the girls. The traffic was very heavy. The car went only up to a certain distance. Along the way, the sisters were still warned not to go, it would be very late (3 o'clock afternoon) and in the mountains were still Japanese etc. It was hard to decide what was to do. The sisters thought maybe you can find but still a corner in the big sister House in Sto Tomas where she could stay overnight. As they Sto Tomas had reached what worse than they thought. Only rubble, nothing was a remnant of wall more and every now and then. The Church walls were still about the Tower, half broken. The great statue of the Holy Father Joseph, who in the front yard of the school was still, but otherwise nothing.

We started our sad work. We wanted to make sure whether the sisters were really there - you could believe everything. All around were bomb holes, but no stones, so the shelter was been not spill from the walls, even though it was pretty close to the Church. Scattered around were parts of garments from the stock packages that got any sister. The girl told us the Tabernacle would be under the root of the tree, and so we started to dig on here. A peculiar odor was noticeable, not as a cemetery; no bugs, no Ant, that there are so many, was to see. Soon we came to the iron of the Tabernacle. The latter was dropped in half and shattered, torn out the door in pieces, the hole full of Earth. We did empty the hole carefully, but we found no inner sanctum, only every now and then a very small piece of silk or Gold piping, no communion wafers. A m further on we found quite crushed pieces of gold and then on a half a ciborium and torn, also some pieces. But by the Sisters was no trace. The men were digging, had to go always back away, of smell the sake. We started well at one end, where you told us there would be a sister at the top. Really, there was a belt almost unrecognizable on the ground. When we moved from a bone came to light. It was a part of a hip into the Cingulum was compressed into tight and even the whole leg bone was to the foot. One could distinguish the stocking. One had to already exactly distinguish to recognize what it was. The linen was only a rotted mass. We had to stop, it was impossible to make, we wanted to come himself alive to Manila. It had become in the meantime night. During the afternoon, some people from the mountains, where they had fled had returned again back to build a House. So, we were not so alone for the night. The poor people have lost all their belongings and still they complain some of their relatives as murdered. It did very sorry that the sisters had come to people. Many said they had asked the sisters to escape with them in the mountains. They said that the sisters wanted to certainly save the Church and the school, because the Japanese not destroyed the Church and the convent, so long the sisters there were, while they all put on the other houses. You advised us to come back after the rainy season and then to dig out, it would be now too early, later would be better. You also told us that everything is just as it was when the city was captured on some medals that were lying around and taken with the soldiers. Nothing yet has been dug or taken away. It seems to have fallen a direct hit on the shelter, because otherwise the iron Cabinet could have been so battered. And the sister were sure their only hope during the attack all around to the dear savior in the Tabernacle. He put an end to their suffering and in his Kingdom took them all to himself. R.I.P. The next day we decided to go to Manila. Taken we have nothing except the ciborium pieces. Afternoon sad again, we arrived at the College and were able to confirm only what had been told the two girls: 15 of our dear sisters had given her life as Atonement. Like crave them at God's throne on a lasting peace. --LoKiLeCh (talk) 20:48, 12 January 2016 (UTC)