Vietnamese Martyrs

Way too often, when we think of large groups of martyrs we think of the early centuries of the Church. But that sort of thing died out for the most part after Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman empire. There may be an occasional martyr here & there, but nothing like those large groups back then. Not true. In fact there are style large groups of Christians being persecuted in areas like China.

1 area that has seen a large number of martyrs produces is Vietnam. Over a period of the last 500 yrs thousands of people, mostly Vietnamese have been martyred for their faith in Christ. This group included missionaries, bishops, priests, religious, lay men & women. On 19 June 1988 Pope John Paul the Great recognized 117 of them as saints. This group consisted of ninety-six Vietnamese, eleven Spaniards, and ten French. Eight of the group were bishops, fifty were priests and fifty-nine were lay Catholics.

Among these were Fr. Andrew Dung-Lac, a parish priest. He was beheaded on 21 December 1839 merely for being a priest. Another was Francis Xavier Can Nguyen. He was a lay catechist who was strangled to death when he refused to renounce his faith. Augustine Moi Van Nguyen was a day laborer & a Dominican tertiary who was told by government authorities to trample on a cross by government authorities as a sign of renouncing his faith. He was strangled in 1839 after refusing to do so. Andrew Thong Kim Nguyen was a village mayor who was stripped of his position in 1855, exiled he was marched to a relocation camp in Mi-Tho. On the way he died due to dehydration, exposure and exhaustion.

These are only a few of the stories of the 117 Vietnamese Martyrs. Their stories are a challenge to us who have it so much easier here in the USA. How many of us are anywhere near as willing to stand up for our faith even though we don't face the threats & dangers to our lives that they did? May their stories inspire us to pay whatever price we may have to to live our lives out as true followers of Christ.