Akhna Phai and 6 companions

The group of martyrs is structured around three pastoral pillars who took over after the priest's expulsion, supported by four laywomen dedicated to the mission: Philip Siphong Onphitak (33 years old), a father and catechist, is the spiritual leader of the community. A former seminarian, he is held in immense esteem by the villagers. After the parish priest's departure, he gathers the faithful daily to pray, teaches at the parish school, and exhorts everyone to constancy in the faith. Sister Agnes Phila (31 years old, born Margarita Phila) is a nun of the diocesan congregation of the Lovers of the Cross. Appointed director of the Catholic school in Songkhon in 1932, she is a zealous teacher and catechist. Sister Lucia Khambang (23 years old), also a nun of the Lovers of the Cross, arrived in Songkhon at the beginning of 1940 to assist Sister Agnes at the school. Agatha Phutta (59 years old) is a laywoman of Laotian origin, converted to Catholicism as an adult, who dedicated her life to the service of the missionaries as a cook for the convent and the mission. Cecilia Butsi (16 years old) is a young laywoman with a cheerful and courageous temperament who helped Agatha Phutta in the mission kitchens. Bibiana Khampai (15 years old) is a pious adolescent who was assiduous in the sacraments. Mary Phon (14 years old), the youngest of the group, was raised by her aunt and distinguished herself by her piety and regular attendance at church. The two nuns belonged to the Congregation of the Lovers of the Cross of Xieng Vang, an indigenous institute founded in the 17th century, whose main mission is the Christian education of children and service to the poor in the rural areas of Indochina. In Songkhon, the work of the sisters and the catechist Philip Siphong allowed the community's faith to remain alive despite the absence of a priest and police threats.

The martyrdom of the group was accomplished in two stages during the month of December 1940. Exasperated by the spiritual resistance of the catechist, who had sent a letter of complaint to the Mukdahan authorities regarding police abuses, the police chief Lu Muangkhot decided to eliminate him. In mid-December, he had a fake official summons attributed to the sub-prefect of Mukdahan delivered to him. Although the villagers warned him against an obvious trap, Philip Siphong declared: "I must go." On December 15, he set off by bicycle. The next day, December 16, 1940, he was intercepted by the police near the Tum Nok River (at Muang Phaluka), tortured, and shot. His body was summarily buried in the forest by requisitioned inhabitants. The death of Philip Siphong did not discourage the faithful, who were galvanized by the example of Sisters Agnes and Lucia, who took over the leadership of the community. On Christmas Day, Lu Muangkhot gathered the villagers in front of the church and issued an ultimatum: renounce Christianity or face death. It was then that young Cecilia Butsi (16 years old) courageously stood up to affirm her willingness to die for her faith. Sister Agnes Phila then wrote a letter of great spiritual strength addressed to the police chief, signed by herself and her companions: "We are happy to return to God the life He gave us... We beg you to open the gates of paradise for us... You act according to the orders of men, but we act according to the commandments of God." The next day, December 26, 1940, the six women were led by the police to the village cemetery. On the way, the father of one of the young girls present, Cecilia Suvan, intervened and forcibly pulled her from the group despite her pleas to die with the sisters. Upon arriving at the cemetery, the six martyrs knelt, prayed, and sang hymns before being shot by the police. A young girl named Soru (or Son), who accompanied the group, miraculously survived without any injury and was later able to testify to the serenity and courage of the victims.

After the end of the war and the return to religious peace, the heroism of the martyrs of Songkhon was quickly recognized by the local Catholic community. The diocesan inquiry was opened on July 4, 1952, and closed on March 25, 1955. The causes of Philip Siphong Onphitak and the six women, initially distinct, were officially unified by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on September 27, 1985. The decree formally recognizing their martyrdom in odium fidei (in hatred of the faith) was promulgated by the Holy See on September 1, 1988. On October 22, 1989, during World Mission Day, Pope John Paul II proceeded with the solemn beatification of the seven martyrs of Songkhon in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, in the presence of thousands of Thai pilgrims. They thus became the first indigenous blesseds in the history of Thailand. Their mortal remains are today piously preserved and venerated in glass reliquaries within the Shrine of Our Lady of the Martyrs of Thailand in Songkhon (Wat Ban Songkhon). This modern and monumental edifice, built on the banks of the Mekong, is considered one of the largest Catholic shrines in Southeast Asia. In 2024, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Thailand decided to unify the canonization cause of the seven martyrs of Songkhon with that of the blessed priest Nicholas Bunkerd Kitbamrung (martyred in 1944 and beatified in 2000), thus paving the way for a future joint canonization of the eight Thai martyrs.

The spirituality of the martyrs of Songkhon is characterized by a pure faith, lived in the simplicity of daily life and carried to heroism in the face of state persecution. Their sacrifice demonstrates that holiness and the supreme witness of faith are not reserved for a clerical elite, but are accessible to all states of life: a catechist father, teaching nuns, a humble elderly cook, and young adolescent girls. The figure of Philip Siphong Onphitak remains an exceptional model for the Asian laity. During the ad limina visit of the bishops of Thailand in 1991, Pope John Paul II presented him as the exemplary patron of the Thai laity, highlighting his acute awareness of his baptismal mission as priest, prophet, and king. The liturgical memory of the group is fixed on December 16 (the anniversary of the death of Philip Siphong), a day which has also been instituted as the Thai Catechists' Day. The six women are also commemorated on December 26. The letter of Sister Agnes Phila remains a masterpiece of modern martyrological literature, illustrating the absolute primacy of God's law over human decrees and the joyful certainty of eternal life.