Isidore Ngei Ko Lat

In 1946, Isidore Ngei Ko Lat met Father Mario Vergara, an Italian PIME missionary, in Leiktho. Impressed by the young man's zeal and skills, the latter proposed that he become his lay catechist. Isidore accepted this mission with enthusiasm, seeing it as a way to fulfill his vocation in the service of the Gospel and his people. He followed Father Vergara to the mountainous and isolated region of Shadaw, located east of Loikaw. Isidore became an indispensable collaborator, serving as a bridge between the foreign missionary and the local populations of the Karen (or Kayin) ethnic group. In 1948, another PIME missionary, Father Pietro Galastri, joined the mission. Isidore also served as his interpreter. Together, they worked tirelessly to build churches, schools, dispensaries, and orphanages, providing material and spiritual aid to the most destitute. The independence of Burma from the British Crown in 1948 plunged the country into a violent civil war. Ethnic and religious tensions intensified, pitting government forces against Karen rebels. In this climate of terror, Catholic missionaries, who denounced the abuses of the guerrillas and defended the rights of oppressed villagers, became prime targets for certain rebel groups. Isidore firmly supported Father Vergara in this defense of the poor, thereby drawing the hatred of local guerrilla leaders.

At the beginning of 1950, persecutions against Catholics intensified. In April, a catechist named Giacomo Còlei (James Colei) was arrested by rebel militias in Taruddà, while another catechist, Pio, was captured and murdered. In order to negotiate the release of Giacomo Còlei and to protect the other Christians, Father Mario Vergara requested a meeting in Shadaw with the local district chief, Tire, set for May 24, 1950. Isidore Ngei Ko Lat chose to accompany the priest on this perilous endeavor. Upon arriving at the location, they fell into an ambush: they found themselves face-to-face with the rebel leader Richmond, who had taken Tire's place. After an aggressive interrogation, Richmond ordered their arrest. Both men were bound, handcuffed, and forcibly dragged through the jungle toward the Salween River. After a forced march of more than six hours through the night, they were shot at dawn on May 25, 1950, on the banks of the river. Their bodies were placed in sacks and thrown into the current of the Salween. A few days later, fishermen of the Shan ethnic group spotted the sacks, but upon realizing they contained corpses, they threw them back into the water. Their remains were never recovered.

The cause for the beatification of Isidore Ngei Ko Lat was introduced in 2003 by Bishop Soter Phamo, Bishop of Loikaw. In 2009, his cause was officially joined to that of Father Mario Vergara. On December 9, 2013, Pope Francis signed the decree recognizing their martyrdom in odium fidei (in hatred of the faith). The beatification ceremony was celebrated on May 24, 2014, in the Cathedral of San Paolo in Aversa, Italy, the diocese of origin of Father Vergara. It was presided over by Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, representing Pope Francis. On this occasion, Isidore Ngei Ko Lat was proclaimed the first indigenous blessed in the history of the Church in Burma.

The figure of Blessed Isidore Ngei Ko Lat embodies the vocation and holiness of the laity in the Church. Despite the trial of the illness that prevented him from becoming a priest, he was able to reorient his life to dedicate himself entirely to God through the ministry of catechist. His apostolic zeal, his charity towards children, and his unwavering fidelity to the missionaries testify to a deeply rooted faith. During the general audience of May 21, 2014, Pope Francis honored their memory in these terms: "Next Saturday, in Aversa, Mario Vergara, a priest of the PIME, and Isidore Ngei Ko Lat, a layman and catechist, killed in 1950 in Burma in odium fidei, will be proclaimed blessed. May their heroic fidelity to Christ be an encouragement and an example for missionaries and in particular for the catechists who carry out, in mission lands, a precious and irreplaceable apostolic work for which the whole Church is grateful to them." For the Church in Burma, often tested by conflicts and political restrictions, Blessed Isidore is a model of courage and hope, recalling the fundamental role of local catechists in the transmission of the faith.