Vietnamese Martyrs Procession 2018

The Catholic Church in Vietnam was devastated during the Tay Son Rebellion in the late 18th century. Converts began to be harassed without official edicts in the late 1820s by local governments. In 1831 the emperor passed new laws on regulations for religious groupings in Viet Nam and Catholicism was then officially prohibited.  The Vatican estimates the number of Vietnamese martyrs at between 130,000 and 300,000.

The Vietnamese Martyrs fall into several groupings, those of the Dominican, Jesuit, and the Paris Foreign Missions Society.  A representative sample of only 117 martyrs—including 96 Vietnamese, 11 Spanish Dominicans, and 10 French members of the Paris Foreign Missions Society.  A young Vietnamese Martyr, Andrew Phu Yen was beatified on March 5, 2000 also by Pope John Paul II.  The only non-clergy woman among the 117 martyrs was St. Anne Le Thi Thanh.   

The tortures these individuals underwent are considered by the Vatican to be among the worst in the history of Christian martyrdom.  The torturers hacked off limbs joint by joint, tore flesh with red hot tongs, and used drugs to enslave the minds of the victims.

The 117 Martyrs of Vietnam are saints and were canonized on June 18, 1988 by Pope John Paul II.  Their feast is on November 24.  This year we proudly honored their 30th Anniversary with a procession of relics and Vietnamese Martyr Icon  at our St. Justin Martyr Parish, on Sunday November 18^th 2018 before the Vietnamese mass at 12:00 p.m.

The Retreat Center on Kermier Road in Waller Texas named in memory of St. Anne Le Thi Thanh.  Father Paul has approved for St. Justin Martyr ACTS Ministry to host women's retreat and men's retreat at this center in 2019.