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Saint Jean-Charles Cornay

Young Paris Foreign Missions priest beheaded near Son Tay in 1837

Rank
Saint
Kind
Martyr, Priest, Missionary
Life
1809 – 1837
Era
19th century
Feast
20 September
Countries
France, Vietnam
FranceVietnam

Life story

He was born on 27 February 1809 in Loudun, Vienne, France. On 13 October 1830 he entered the seminary of the Paris Foreign Missions Society. He was made a deacon in 1831 and secretly ordained a priest on 26 April 1834 in Tonkin by Bishop Joseph-Marie-Pélagie Havard.

After arriving in Tonkin during a time of persecution, the guides who were to take him on to Sichuan never arrived, and in 1836 he chose to stay in Tonkin. In 1837 he was arrested and accused of leading an evil sect and fomenting rebellion. He was put in the cangue and then in a cage.

He was put to death on 20 September 1837 near the Son Tay citadel, not far from Hanoi: the sentence was dismemberment (lang tri); according to IRFA he was beheaded first and his limbs cut afterwards, and his head was displayed for three days and then thrown into the river. Pope Leo XIII beatified him on 27 May 1900. On 19 June 1988 Pope John Paul II canonised him among the 117 Martyrs of Vietnam. His own feast is 20 September, while the Vietnamese martyrs are celebrated together on 24 November.

Works and witness

  • Entered the Paris Foreign Missions seminary on 13 October 1830
  • Secretly ordained a priest in Tonkin on 26 April 1834
  • Chose to stay in Tonkin in 1836 when the guides to Sichuan did not come
  • Arrested in 1837, put in the cangue and a cage
  • Beheaded near Son Tay on 20 September 1837

Saints from the same country

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Saint Louis IX of France, Saint Joan of Arc, Saint Francis de Sales

References

  • IRFA, "0394 - CORNAY Jean-Charles" (irfa.paris)

Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.