Roman Catholicism arrived in Myanmar with the Portuguese in the 16th century. Burmese descendants of the Portuguese, known as Bayingyi (derived from the Persian farenji, “foreigner” a term used widely throughout the Indian Ocean region and a legacy of the Crusades), make up the oldest Catholic community. 90% of Burmese Catholics come from the Karen, Chin, Kachin, Chin, Shan, and Kaw ethnic minorities and are a legacy of Catholic proselytization under colonialism. Roman Catholics make up about 1.3% of the Burmese population, and, like other Christians, they have faced local and government discrimination.
Sources
Donald Seekins, Historical Dictionary of Burma (Lanham, Scarecrow Press: 2006).
“Myanmar,” World Christian Encyclopedia, 2nd. Ed., Vol. I, eds. David Barrett et. al. (Oxford, Oxford University Press: 2001).