Cardinal Van Thuan's Holiness

The process of beatification has begun for Vietnamese Cardinal Van Thuan who spent 13 years in prison for the crime of being a Catholic, and carries with him an almost transparent holiness.

His story is similar to the story of China’s Ignatius Cardinal Kung Pin Mei, who spent 30 years in prison for his faith, living the last part of his life in exile.

Cardinal Ignatius Kung Pin Mei, in exile

A little while back I wrote elsewhere:

Like the Magi, the Church has been traveling resolutely West, and it has nearly come full-circle; it is bringing new treasure from the East and up from Africa. There is almost a sense of completion to this.

Perhaps these courageous and faithful Christians out of Asia are meant to be the saints whose prayers help to speed our healing and our journey to wholeness.