Saint Joseph Marchand
French missionary priest martyred at Hue in 1835
- Rank
- Saint
- Kind
- Martyr, Priest, Missionary
- Life
- 1803 – 1835
- Era
- 19th century
- Feast
- 30 November
- Countries
- France, Vietnam
Life story
Joseph Marchand was born on 17 August 1803 at Passavant in the Doubs, France. At about 25 he joined the Paris Foreign Missions Society (MEP), aiming to evangelize Asia. According to the biography of the MEP archive, he was ordained a priest on 4 April 1829 and left for Cochinchina the same month.
He worked in southern Vietnam. In 1833 the revolt of Le Van Khoi seized the citadel of Gia Dinh (Saigon). The rebels held him in the citadel; according to the Paris Foreign Missions Society he refused to urge Christians to join the revolt, but the court still treated him as complicit, which was the ground of his condemnation.
The royal army retook the citadel on 8 September 1835 according to the MEP archive, and he was arrested immediately afterwards and taken to Hue. He was executed by slow slicing near Hue on 30 November 1835, at the age of 32.
He was beatified on 27 May 1900 and canonized by John Paul II on 19 June 1988 with the Vietnamese Martyrs. His own feast is 30 November, and he is also commemorated on 24 November with the Vietnamese Martyrs.
Works and witness
- Joined the Paris Foreign Missions Society and was ordained on 4 April 1829
- Missionary in Cochinchina from 1829
- Arrested after the royal recapture of Gia Dinh citadel in 1835
- Executed by slow slicing at Hue in 1835
Saints from the same country
References
- IRFA, "0375 - MARCHAND Joseph" (irfa.paris)
- Missions Étrangères de Paris, "Saint Joseph Marchand" (missionsetrangeres.com)
Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.