Ma and his parents originate from Hunan Province in the Republic of China (now Hunan, People's Republic of China), and their ancestral home was in Fufeng, Shaanxi Province. His ancestors had migrated from Shaanxi to Jiangxi and then finally to Hunan. Researchers had purportedly visited the old residence of Ma's father, Ma Ho-ling (1920–2005), in Kaiyun Town, Hengshan County, Hunan, where they discovered a genealogy book stating that Ma descended from Three Kingdoms era general Ma Chao. His mother was Chin Hou-hsiu (1922–2013). Ma was raised Catholic.