Blessed Andrew Phu Yen (1625 - 1644) - Vietnamese Martyr Saints

Andrew Phu Yen was born in 1625 in the province of Phu Yen, Vietnam. At age 15, he was baptized and became a Catholic. Later, Andrew was taught and trained by Father Alexandre de Rhodes, a famous Jesuit missionary, to become a catechist.

In 1644, Andrew was arrested for following Catholicism. After being tortured, Andrew remained steadfast in his faith and was executed on July 26 that year.

Andrew's death deeply moved Vietnamese Catholics. In 2000, Pope John Paul II beatified Andrew Phu Yen. This was a great honor for Vietnamese Catholics, as Andrew was the first martyr of the Catholic Church in Vietnam.

Three and a half centuries have passed since Andrew Phu Yen heroically sacrificed himself for his faith in Christ, but the memory of the first martyr of the Catholic Church in Vietnam is still preserved and treasured by Vietnamese Catholics. Andrew's example is a great source of encouragement and inspiration for the faithful in living out their faith amidst the ups and downs of the country's history.

Catechist Andrew was born in 1625 in the parish of Mang Lang, Phu Yen province, as the youngest child of Gioanna, a widowed woman. She wholeheartedly raised her children with a kind and wise soul. Andrew was a frail boy but very intelligent with good judgement. At his mother's pleading, Father Alexandre de Rhodes, a famous Jesuit missionary, accepted Andrew among his students. Andrew diligently studied Confucian texts and soon surpassed his classmates.

Andrew received the sacrament of Baptism together with his mother in 1641, when he was 15 years old. Andrew was born in 1625 or 1626, exact date unknown, and at the time of his martyrdom in 1644, he was about 19 or 20 years old.

A year after his Baptism, in 1642, Father de Rhodes took Andrew into his inner circle of trusted associates. After an additional year of religious and cultural training, Andrew was admitted into the Society of Catechists, also known as the "House of God". This was an organization founded by Father de Rhodes, whose members committed to lifelong service to the Church by assisting priests and spreading the Gospel.

Andrew's zeal in fully living out his baptismal commitment helped him bravely face martyrdom and humbly accept the grace of martyrdom from God.

In late July 1644, the provincial mandarin, ruler of the province where Catechist Andrew lived, had returned. The mandarin brought with him the lord Nguyen's edict prohibiting the spread of Christianity in the country. Therefore, the mandarin decided to first act against the catechists, who were seen as the propagators of Christianity.

Father de Rhodes, unaware of the mandarin's intentions, visited him out of courtesy, but soon learned that the lord Nguyen was furious that so many locals had converted to Catholicism because of him. Therefore, Father de Rhodes had to leave Dang Trong and return to Macao, and was no longer allowed to teach the faith to the people. The Christian converts would be severely punished.

After meeting the mandarin, Father de Rhodes went to the prison to visit catechist Andrew, 63 years old, who had been arrested just two days prior. Meanwhile, the mandarin ordered soldiers to Father de Rhodes' residence to arrest catechist Ignatio, but Ignatio was away doing missionary work. The soldiers only found the young catechist Andrew there. To avoid returning empty-handed, the soldiers beat and shackled Andrew, then brought him down to the mandarin's office. In the evening of July 25, 1644, Andrew was brought before the mandarin. The soldiers reported that they could not find Ignatio, but had captured another similar catechist, because during the whole journey this man kept speaking of Christ and encouraging others to convert.

Hearing this, the mandarin tried every way to make Andrew "renounce that insane religion and abandon his faith".

"But the brave youth answered that he was a Christian, and very willing to suffer any torment rather than renounce his confessed religion: therefore he begged the mandarin to prepare whatever instruments he wished, for he would gladly welcome them, firmly believing that the more he suffered for the faith, the more glorious would be his death".

The angry mandarin, because Andrew did not fear his threats at all, ordered him put in cangue and stocks and thrown into the prison cell with old Andrew.

Father de Rhodes and some Portuguese merchants came to visit the two Andrews. Young Andrew was serene and joyful at being able to suffer for Christ. This caused the visitors to be moved to tears and unable to leave Andrew's side, crying profusely. They asked Andrew to remember them in his prayers. Seeing this, Andrew jokingly chided them and asked them to pray for him, that God would grant him fidelity to God unto death. Andrew said he wished to "offer his life in perfect love, so as to repay the infinite love of God, who offered His life for mankind". Andrew's last words were: "Let us repay the love of our God with love, life with life".

On the morning of July 26, 1644, the two Christian Andrews, old Andrew aged 63 and young Andrew, necks locked in cangue, were led through the busiest streets of the city, crossing the Cham market, to the provincial mandarin's office. Here, the mandarin summoned some other officials, swayed them to his side, and condemned the catechist Andrew to death. Andrew was brought back to his cell.

Old Andrew was pardoned due to his age, thanks to Father de Rhodes' pleading and the Portuguese merchants.

At 5 pm, a commander came to the prison with 30 soldiers to fetch the Servant of God being held there. The commander ordered Andrew to follow them to the place of execution. Andrew thanked God that the hour of sacrifice had arrived, and after bidding goodbye to all in the prison, briskly went off. The soldiers tightly surrounded Andrew and led him through the streets of Cham village to a field outside the city walls. Father de Rhodes, many Portuguese and Vietnamese Christians, and non-Christians had also followed and witnessed the martyrdom.

According to local custom, Father de Rhodes asked permission to spread out a mat to collect Andrew's blood. However, Andrew refused, because he wanted his blood to seep into the earth, like the blood of Christ had poured out. Meanwhile, Andrew exhorted the attending Christians to remain steadfast in their faith, not grieve over his death, and pray for his fidelity unto the end.

Andrew's execution was carried out by stabbing him several times in the left ribs with spears. When a soldier was about to behead him with a sword, Andrew cried out loudly, "Jesus!".

Until his death, Andrew steadfastly maintained his faith and willingly offered his life for Christ.

On July 26, 1644, Andrew was executed. His body was brought to Hoi An, where Father de Rhodes was residing. Father de Rhodes embalmed Andrew's body in a coffin and brought it to Macao. At the end of 1645, Father de Rhodes brought Andrew's head to Rome, while keeping the body in Macao.