Saint Clemente Ignacio Delgado Cebrian (1762-1838) - Vietnamese Martyr Saint

Bishop Clemente Ignacio Delgado, born in 1762 in Villa Felice, Spain, a Dominican, was a missionary bishop of Eastern Tonkin. He was martyred on July 12, 1838 in Nam Dinh under the reign of King Minh Mang. On May 27, 1900, Pope Leo XIII beatified him and on June 19, 1988, Pope John Paul II canonized him a saint. His feast is celebrated annually on July 12.

With nearly half a century of enthusiastic missionary work in Vietnam and 43 years as bishop, the life of St. Ignatius Delgado was closely tied to the Diocese of Eastern Tonkin, now belonging to 5 dioceses of Hai Phong, Bui Chu, Bac Ninh, Lang Son and Thai Binh. His activities spanned 3 dynasties: the Canh Thinh era with many difficulties helped him assess the needs; during Gia Long's reign, he brought the Eastern diocese to its peak, strong enough to cope with the persecutions under Minh Mang and it was also a bountiful harvest period of martyr saints; the number of native priests, male and female religious and lay people increased annually as clear evidence of his enthusiasm and leadership skills.

Ignatius Delgado Y Cebrian was born on November 23, 1762 in the village of Villafeliche, Saragossa province, Aragon region, Spain. From childhood, Ignatius Y was deeply influenced by the Cistercian nuns. An avid reader, he pondered day and night over the legends of the nuns. Moreover, from the hills to the meadows, from the land to the trees in his village all bore the marks of the white-robed nuns of the Order of St. Bernard. That is why he nurtured the dream of devoting himself to serving God in the monastery.

Initially intending to become a Cistercian monk, but after being invited by a friend to join the Dominican Order, he accepted. In 1781, he fully professed at the Monastery of St. Peter the Martyr in the Dominican Province of Aragon. During his study at the University of Orihuela, he learned about his Order’s missionary work in Southeast Asia and felt passionate about it. In 1785, with the approval of his superiors, he transferred to the Province of Our Lady of the Rosary and went to Manila, Philippines to continue his studies. In 1787, he was ordained a priest. A year later, out of 15 volunteers to go to Vietnam for missionary work, he was chosen along with another friar. However, due to civil war, the two had to wander to Macao, Malacca before finally arriving in Vietnam in 1790. Although he had just arrived in Vietnam, people had already heard of his talents and virtues so they greatly respected him. After learning the language for a while, he was appointed to take care of the seminary for 2 years, served as a pastor for 2 years, then represented the Dominicans in Vietnam. In 1794, at just 33, he was appointed as Auxiliary Bishop with the right of succession.

Bishop Ignatius Y quickly adapted to the missionary land from the climate, language to local customs and cuisine. After 4 years of running the seminary and serving as pastor, he thoroughly understood the local circumstances as well as the clergy. With his new position, he became an invaluable assistant to Bishop Alonso Phe in administration and evangelization. In 1799, when King Canh Thinh issued an edict banning Catholicism, he wrote letters urging priests to go into hiding nearby to continue serving the faithful, while encouraging lay Catholics to fast and pray for peace. In a report to the Order, he wrote that priests had to hide in cellars, deep forests but still secretly came to the faithful; only the two bishops still visited all parishes. In 1799, when Bishop Phe passed away, Bishop Y succeeded him and continued the tradition of suffering to serve God and others.

Bishop Ignatius Y was very concerned about visiting all parishes however remote and difficult to access. From early 1803, this work was shared with Bishop Henares Minh. The two had to travel thousands of kilometers on trails, embankments, through forests and over mountains to visit every remote parish multiple times. At each place, they gave specific instructions, corrected abuses, eradicated superstitions and eliminated the evil of usury.

During the relatively peaceful periods under Gia Long and Minh Mang, Bishop Ignatio Y organized the diocese more firmly. He focused on training native priests, strengthening seminaries, and doubling the total number of priests in just 10 years. He also encouraged native priests to join the Dominican Order after serving as diocesan priests. Thanks to the time of peace, the faithful were able to learn the catechism and practice their faith better. The number of Catholics increased rapidly from 114,000 to 160,000 in 10 years with nearly 800 parishes.

With a sense of responsibility to his predecessors, Bishop Ignatio Y personally directed research on the life and work of the two martyred priests Gia and Vinh Son who were executed in Hanoi in 1773. In 1818, he completed the dossier and submitted it to the Holy See for their canonization.

In the early years of Minh Mang, when epidemics and economic depression plagued the country, Bishop Ignatio Y called on clergy and laity to care for the sick and provide relief for the poor and needy, earning great respect from all. The anti-Catholic edicts of 1825 and 1833 were not thoroughly implemented in his diocese thanks to sympathetic officials.

In April 1838, teacher Vu Van Lan was arrested while carrying letters for the bishops and priests. The authorities fiercely hunted down Catholics, seminaries and religious houses were dissolved, bishops and priests had to go into hiding. In May 1838, Bishop Ignatio Y was arrested in Kien Lao village after being betrayed, although he had escaped once before.

76-year-old Bishop Ignatio Y was discovered and arrested by soldiers while being carried away in a hammock by Catholics. They tied him up in the hammock and carried him back to the village hall amid loud cheering and celebration, forgetting to pursue the others. When questioned, the bishop claimed he had just arrived and was unrelated to the villagers. When threatened with suicide, he replied that Catholicism prohibited it, but if killed for the faith, he would be very happy.

That evening, the bishop was locked in a narrow wooden cage too small to stand or stretch his arms outside, with only a small opening on the roof to pass food. On May 30, he was escorted to Nam Dinh amid thousands of troops and mandarins, drums and gongs sounding as if welcoming a king. But the hero of faith still knelt praying in his cage, clutching his prayer book.

In 43 days caged, Bishop Ignatio Y endured immense sufferings: starvation, torture, humiliation and spitting in the face. After each interrogation, he was exposed to the sun, rain and cold. Still, he did not reveal anyone or any location. Occasionally he told the guards that if they knew Christ's way they would follow it.

On June 14, the governor general sent the sentence to the king but it was not approved because the king wanted him to confess to being a spy. He refused and said if the king wanted to kill him, just go ahead. The second sentence was approved by the king, but by the time it arrived, on July 12, after 43 years as bishop, the elderly and frail bishop had died in his cage. The official still ordered the sentence carried out to deter others.

By official order, soldiers carried the bishop's cage to the Bảy Mẫu execution ground, took out his body and beheaded it in front of the supervising mandarin and some Catholics. His body was brought back by Catholics for burial in the now destroyed church in Bui Chu. His head was publicly displayed for 3 days then thrown in the river, later retrieved by a fisherman and buried near his body.

On May 27, 1900, Pope Leo XIII declared him Blessed. On June 19, 1988, Pope John Paul II canonized him a Saint.