Mario Vergara (16 November 1910 – 24 May 1950) was an Italian Catholic

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions who was killed in

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

(now Myanmar) in 1950. He was beatified in 2014 after the recognition of his martyrdom.

Biography

Mario Vergara was born on 16 November 1910 and was

baptized Baptism (from ) is a Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three ...

on 20 November - a week after his birth. He was the last of nine children. He entered the

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

Aversa Aversa () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Caserta in Campania, southern Italy, about 24 km north of Naples. It is the centre of an agricultural district, the ''Agro Aversano'', producing wine and cheese (famous for the typical dome ...

and studied there until the age of 17 when he was admitted to a seminary in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

. It was there where his

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

vocation emerged. In 1929, he entered the seminary in

Monza Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...

and he later received the

tonsure Tonsure () is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word ' (meaning "clipping" or "shearing") and referred to a specific practice in ...

and the

minor orders In Christianity, minor orders are ranks of church ministry. In the Catholic Church, the predominating Latin Church formerly distinguished between the major orders—priest (including bishop), deacon and subdeacon—and four minor orders— acolyt ...

by the

Bishop of Aversa The Diocese of Aversa () is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in Campania, southern Italy, created in 1053. It is situated in the ''Terra di Lavoro'' (Liburia), seven miles north of Naples, and eight miles south of Capua. It is suffragan of t ...

in 1932. He was admitted into the

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

of the

Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions The Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions or PIME (; ) is a society of secular priests and lay people who dedicate their lives to missionary activities in: Algeria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Cambodia, Cameroon, Chad, Guinea-Bissau, Hong Kong, Ind ...

in August 1933 and he was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

to the priesthood on 26 August 1934 by the

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

Archbishop of Milan The Archdiocese of Milan (; ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Italy which covers the areas of Milan, Monza, Lecco and Varese. It has long maintained its own Latin liturgical rite usage, the Amb ...

Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster, (, ; born Alfredo Ludovico Schuster; 18 January 1880 – 30 August 1954) was an Italian Catholic prelate and professed member of the Benedictines who served as the Archbishop of Milan from 1929 until his death. He ...

. By September that same year, he travelled to

to begin his missionary activities. Vergara was entrusted a small village and it was there that he ensured that there be regular

catechesis Catechesis (; from Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of converts to Christianity, but as the ...

lessons and the celebration of the sacraments. He also established various assistance services and an

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abusi ...

for children. When

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

started, Vergara was interned in a British concentration camp in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

in 1940. After he was released he travelled to

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

and later to

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

in June 1946. It was there that he underwent nephrectomy surgery. He returned to Burma in 1947 and continued his mission there, and met the catechist Isidore Ngei Ko Lat. The two worked together in the villages. After the nation gained independence in 1948, both Vergara and Ko Lat received death threats. This culminated in 1950 when the two were both murdered by

guerillas Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...

Beatification

The

Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, passi ...

approved the cause of beatification which commenced on 23 October 2001. This bestowed upon him the title of

Servant of God Servant of God () is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression ''Servant of God'' appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in ...

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

approved his and Isidoro Ngei Ko Lat's martyrdom on 9 December 2013, thus, allowing for their beatification. Cardinal

Angelo Amato Angelo Amato, Salesians of Don Bosco, S.D.B. (8 June 1938 – 31 December 2024) was an Italian Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints between 2008 and 20 ...

represented the pope at the beatification on 24 May 2014.

References

External links

Hagiography CircleSaints SQPN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vergara, Mario 1910 births 1950 deaths Italian beatified people Beatifications by Pope Francis 20th-century venerated Christians 20th-century Roman Catholic martyrs Roman Catholic missionaries in Myanmar