Saint Andrew Dung-Lac and the 117 Martyrs of Vietnam

The 117 martyrs of Vietnam bear witness to fidelity unto death throughout centuries of persecution religious in what is now Vietnam. Several popes beatified Vietnamese martyrs, and finally, a decree in 1986 united the 117, canonized by St. John Paul II in the late 1980s.

Of the total, 96 were Vietnamese, 11 were Spanish Dominican missionaries, and 10 were French priests from the Paris Foreign Missions Society. The persecution took place between 1745 and 1862. Many of the martyrs suffered terrible punishments and died in prisons under inhumane conditions.

During the Angelus on the day of the canonization, John Paul II recalled the sanctuary of La Vang, where many Christian faithful took refuge during the persecutions. In his address to the Spanish and French pilgrims present in Rome, he recalled the courage of those missionaries and faithful: “In their passionate zeal, they remind us of the greatness of the gift of faith.”.

Bishops, priests, laypeople

According to the Fides agency, the 117 martyrs, whose list can be seen here, Not only do they represent a very high symbolic number, but also the diversity of the Vietnamese Church: bishops, priests, religious, and laypeople, united by the witness of martyrdom. The majority were priests (including 37 Vietnamese priests), but there were also laypeople. Other media outlets have specified that among them were eight bishops, 50 priests, and 59 lay people, according to their state of life.

Among the best-known martyrs are Saint Andrew Dũng Lạc, a Vietnamese priest executed by beheading, and Saint Bênađô Vũ Văn Duệ, an elderly priest when he was martyred in 1838. The eleven Spanish martyrs were Dominicans, including six bishops.

From 1645 to 1886, 53 edicts were issued against Christians in Vietnam, leading to the martyrdom of up to 113,000 believers, explains the Vatican website. Faced with the steadfastness of so many martyrs of the faith, the Vietnamese monarchy relented in its cruelty and imposed only the dispersal and confiscation of the property of the growing number of converts to the Christian faith.