Saint Andrew Dũng-Lạc and the Vietnamese Martyrs
117 Vietnamese martyrs, represented by the priest Andrew Dũng-Lạc.
- Rank
- Saint
- Kind
- Martyr, Priest, Layperson
- Life
- 1795 – 1839
- Era
- 19th century
- Feast
- 24 November
- Countries
- Vietnam
Life story
Andrew Dũng-Lạc, born Trần An Dũng, was born around 1795 into a poor family in the Bắc Ninh region of northern Vietnam. According to commonly cited biographies, his family was not Christian; he came to know the Catholic faith as a child, was baptised, trained as a catechist and then prepared for the priesthood. He was ordained around 1823 and served Catholics in several parts of Tonkin. Details of his youth vary by source. The Vietnamese church of that era depended heavily on native priests and catechists like him.
At that time the Nguyễn emperors, especially under Minh Mạng, Thiệu Trị and Tự Đức, issued repeated edicts banning Christianity. Missionaries were hunted, churches destroyed and Christians pressed to renounce their faith by trampling the cross. In late 1839 Andrew Dũng-Lạc was arrested, and he was beheaded in Hanoi on 21 December 1839. These measures were applied unevenly across the country, and the severity of persecution varied by region and by period.
His name now heads a group of 117 whom the Church calls the Martyrs of Vietnam. They died between 1745 and 1862, by beheading, strangulation and other means, and some died in prison from illness and ill-treatment. The group includes 96 Vietnamese, 11 Spanish and 10 French missionaries, among them 8 bishops, 50 priests and 59 laypeople. Many of the laypeople were catechists, farmers, soldiers and other ordinary workers who refused to abandon their faith.
They were beatified in four stages between 1900 and 1951 and canonised by John Paul II in Rome on 19 June 1988. Their shared feast is 24 November.
Works and witness
- Priest in Tonkin, ordained around 1823 (per commonly cited biographies).
- Beheaded in Hanoi on 21 December 1839.
- Stands for 117 martyrs who died between 1745 and 1862.
- The group was canonised on 19 June 1988.
Saints from the same country
References
- Martyrologium Romanum
- Homily of John Paul II for the canonisation of the Vietnamese martyrs, 19 June 1988
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints – biographical profile
Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.