MALAYSIA Penang opens the cause for beatification of Sybil Kathigesu, a brave woman against the Japanese

Cardinal Sebastian Francis announced the decision. Sybil was born in 1899 and was a Catholic nurse who cared for the poor. During World War II, she supported the resistance with her husband, suffered severe torture and died of sepsis in 1948. “With a life of faith and courageous actions, she inspired many of us.”

Kuala Lumpur () – Cardinal and Bishop of Penang, Msgr. Sebastian Francis, has announced the opening of the cause for beatification of Sybil Kathigasu, a Catholic nurse and member of the resistance against Japan during World War II. “I consulted the Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur, Msgr. Julian Leow, on the matter, and the proceedings were assigned to Fr. Eugene Benedict of the archdiocese as postulator,” the cardinal said in a statement. “Today we celebrate the beginning of a journey to elevate to the honour of the altars a daughter of the Church of Malaysia” who “with a life of faith and courageous actions has inspired many of us. Let us strive to follow in her footsteps and pray for her holiness to be recognised,” the cardinal commented.

Sybil Medan Daly was born on 3 September 1899 in Medan, Sumatra, then part of the Dutch East Indies. She was the fifth child (only daughter) of Joseph Daly, a florist of Irish origin, and Beatrice Matilda Martin, a midwife of French origin.

After studying midwifery and nursing for three years, Sybil joined her husband, Dr Abdon Clement Kathigesu, in a clinic in the small town of Papan, Ipoh, in the state of Perak. The couple built a successful private medical practice that also offered free services to poor people who could not afford medical care.

But war was not long in coming, and in 1941 the first bombings of Ipoh took place, as did the incursion of Japanese troops into the city, known for its tin deposits.

Sybil had a vision in which God told her that she would have to endure many sacrifices in the future. But instead of becoming discouraged, the nurse hung a picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in a strategic place in the house, from where she could observe everything that was happening outside. The Kathigesu couple supported the resistance by secretly supplying medicines to the Allied forces and sharing information, helped by Sybil’s knowledge of Cantonese, which enabled her to communicate with the Chinese guerrillas fighting against the Japanese occupation.

The woman was arrested along with her husband and subjected to terrible torture by the Kempeitai, the Japanese military police, but Sybil refused to reveal the information she had. Clutching her rosary, she prayed out loud every night, invoking the name of Jesus. In this way she was able to resist even when she was dragged to see her five-year-old daughter Dawn, hanging from a tree over a bonfire that threatened to burn her alive. But, according to her biography, it was Dawn herself who encouraged her not to give in: “You have to be very brave, Mom. Don’t talk. When we both die, Jesus will be waiting for us in heaven,” the little girl told her.

When the war ended, Sybil was released from Batu Gajah prison on 6 September 1945 with very serious injuries, including a broken spine. She first asked to be carried on a stretcher to the entrance of St. Joseph’s Church, where she crawled down the aisle to give thanks. The anti-Japanese army formed by the Malay population also freed her husband and children.

Sybil was taken to London for medical treatment and there she wrote her autobiography, No Dram of Mercy. In 1947, she was awarded the George Medal by King George VI at Buckingham Palace for her bravery during the Japanese occupation, the only Malaysian woman to receive this award.

Seven months later, on 12 June 1948, aged 49, Sybil died of septicaemia. Her body was buried in Lanark, Scotland, but the following year it was brought back to Ipoh and buried in the Catholic cemetery at St Michael’s Church on Brewster Road.

Magazine Time He called her the “Edith of Malaysia” in reference to the British nurse Edith Cavell, who cared for soldiers from both sides without distinction during World War I.