In the Penang diocese’s latest notification published on Monday, Francis said after consulting with, and receiving the blessings of, Kuala Lumpur archbishop Julian Leow on the matter, he had appointed Reverend Father Eugene Benedict from the Kuala Lumpur archdiocese to aid the initial process.

“I see this as an opportunity to bring (us) together and for us to reflect on her life as people of faith.

“I wish we would undertake the cause of Sybil as an example and inspiration of Gospel living. We will do well to revisit her life and work to find inspiration for our times,” he said.

To be beatified, one miracle acquired through the candidate’s intercession is required, in addition to the recognition of heroic virtue or offering of life.

Canonisation requires a second miracle after beatification, though the Pope may waive this requirement.

Sybil was an Indonesian-born nurse who ran a free clinic in Papan, Perak, with her husband Dr Abdon Clement Kathigasu, during the Japanese occupation of Malaya.

She supported the resistance movement at the time, secretly supplying medicines and medical services to Allied forces, and sharing information from BBC shortwave broadcasts.

A well-educated woman, she was fluent in Cantonese, which allowed her to communicate with anti-Japanese guerillas effortlessly. However, she was captured and interrogated by the Japanese secret police, who subjected her to brutal torture.

Sybil refused to break, surviving until the end of the war. However, the health effects sustained during her ordeal led to her eventual death in 1948. She was buried at the Church of St Michael cemetery in Ipoh.

She remains the only Malayan woman to have received the George Medal, the UK’s second-highest civilian honour for bravery, awarded by King George VI.