Saint Vicente Liem de la Paz
Vietnamese Dominican priest beheaded in Tonkin in 1773
- Rank
- Saint
- Kind
- Martyr, Priest
- Life
- 1732 – 1773
- Era
- 18th century
- Feast
- 24 November
- Countries
- Vietnam
Life story
He was born in 1732 in the village of Trà Lũ, Nam Định Province, Tonkin (northern Vietnam), to Christian parents; he was baptised as a sickly infant. On a scholarship he studied at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran and the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines.
He entered the Dominican order in September 1753 and made solemn profession in 1754. He was ordained a priest in 1758 and returned to Tonkin, arriving on 20 January 1759, to serve while the faith was forbidden.
On 2 October 1773 he was arrested together with two assistants. After a trial he was beheaded on 7 November 1773, aged about 41; one source gives the place of execution as Đồng Mơ, near Hanoi. Pope Pius X beatified him in 1906 and Pope John Paul II canonised him on 19 June 1988 with other Vietnamese martyrs. The Vietnamese martyrs share a feast on 24 November; some sources also remember him on 7 November, the day of his death.
Works and witness
- Studied in Manila on a scholarship; entered the Dominicans in September 1753
- Ordained in 1758 and back in Tonkin on 20 January 1759
- Arrested on 2 October 1773
- Beheaded on 7 November 1773
- Canonised on 19 June 1988
Saints from the same country
References
- Vietnamese Martyrs Website, "Vincent Liem de la Paz"
- Sanctoral.com, "Saint Vincent Liem de la Paz, Dominican Priest, Martyred in Vietnam"
Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.