Saint Dominic Nguyen Duc Nhi (1822 - 1862) - Vietnamese Martyr Saint

Saint Dominic Nguyen Duc Nhi was born in 1822 in Ngoc Cuc village, Xuan Truong district, Nam Dinh province (now belonging to Ngoc Tien parish, Bui Chu diocese) into a family with many children. He and his wife paid great attention to educating their children to live virtuous and charitable lives, caring for the poor, lonely and unfortunate.

When he was arrested on September 14, 1861, Mr. Nhi was 40 years old. He was beaten, detained for 4 days in Xuan Truong district and then exiled to Bach Coc village, Vu Ban district. When his family visited, they saw that despite the harsh conditions of exile, Mr. Nhi still wholeheartedly trusted in God.

During the 9 months of imprisonment, the Catholic prisoners were physically abused, had to wear heavy shackles, and at night their legs were put in stocks and the words “left religion” were carved on their cheeks. Despite the deprivations, Mr. Nhi still fasted 3 days every week. With his fellow Catholic prisoners, he prayed, read scriptures and fingered the rosary.

On June 15, 1862, the chief judge of Nam Dinh province personally came to Vu Ban to inspect and interrogate. The judge placed a cross in the yard and forced each Catholic prisoner to trample it, but they all steadfastly refused because they considered it offensive to God and renunciation of their faith. The angry judge tied the prisoners up and left them in the sun from noon to evening before throwing them into their cells.

On June 16, 1862, the martyr Dominic Nguyen Duc Nhi was executed by beheading at Bach Coc execution ground during the reign of King Tu Duc. His remains were buried at the execution site, then later reinterred in Ngoc Cuc parish.

He was beatified in 1951 and canonized as a saint in 1988 at the Vatican.

Bound by Fate

Under the reign of King Tu Duc, in the Luc Thuy region of Nam Dinh province, Trung Dang Ngoai diocese, there were 13 Catholic parishes across 9 villages. Among them, Ngoc Cuc village had 2 parishes - Ngoc Cuc (patron saint: the Annunciation) and Phu Yen (patron saint: St. Vincent).

Mr. Andre Tuong (1812), Vincent Tuong (1814) and Dominic Nguyen Due Mao (1818) belonged to Phu Yen parish. Andre Tuong and Vincent Tuong were blood brothers, sons of Mr. Dominic Tien (village chief) and Ms. Maria Guong. Although Mr. Tuong was 2 years younger than his brother, he held the post of district chief. Mr. Mao was the son of Mr. Dominic Gioi (village administrator) and Ms. Maria Nhien. When arrested, he was 44 years old and working as vice chief in charge of security in the village.

Mr. Dominic Nguyen (1800) and Mr. Dominic Nhi (1822) belonged to Ngoc Cuc parish. Mr. Nguyen was the son of Mr. Dominic Due (village administrator). At the time of arrest he held the post of chief administrator of Luc Thuy. His son Dominic Trinh (35 years old) was also arrested and martyred one day after his father. Mr. Nhi was the son of Mr. Dominic Vuong and Ms. Catarina Van - the youngest of the group at 22 years old.

All five men were married and rather well-off Catholic farmers, kind-hearted and respected by villagers. Thanks to his medical skills, Mr. Nguyen often practiced Catholic charity, even with non-Catholic brethren. It is unclear if they knew each other before being arrested. But with their common social standings, they became the first targets of King Tu Duc’s decree issued on May 5, 1861.

The decree had 5 main points: dispersing Catholic villages, merging parishes into non-Catholic villages, confiscating Catholic lands, carving the words “left religion” on their faces, and putting Catholics under communal control. In this context, the 5 men were arrested on September 14, 1861. Despite being forced to trample the Cross, they steadfastly defended their Catholic faith. The provincial judge angrily exiled them to Bach Cuc village, Vu Ban district for execution.

Imprisonment and Testimony

After seven and a half months imprisoned in shackles and chains, wearing heavy wooden cangues around their necks, and enduring countless painful beatings, the five heroes of the faith remained unyielding in their Catholic beliefs. According to the decree, the soldiers used red-hot iron rods to carve words on the faces of the Lord's witnesses - on the right "Left religion", on the left their village names. It is impossible to fully convey the pain and humiliation they had to endure - painful because of the throbbing, aggravating wounds, humiliated because their faith was branded with contempt. But they patiently bore it all, as long as their souls remained loyal to God.

To receive God's support, every day they gathered to pray, recited the Rosary, and together offered God their absolute profession of faith, entrusting their lives to His holy will. It was precisely those fervent prayers that gave them the strength and courage to overcome all dangers and trials. In addition, they confessed their sins to each other, fasted three days each week to prepare themselves to receive the grace of martyrdom.

In a letter dated August 2, 1862, Father Estevez Nam reported on the state of religious persecution in Nam Dinh at that time: Catholic parishioners were expelled from their homes, captured in groups of 5 to serve in the army, allowed to bring only enough rice for 2 days’ meals... 300 Catholics were jailed without food rations, so within a few days, 240 starved to death, the rest on the brink of death... On May 18, Governor Nguyen Dinh Tan ordered 21 people beheaded, 43 on May 22, 67 on May 26... On May 30, 112 people were tied up and floated down the river, the next day another 112... District chiefs imitated these acts. Hundreds of Catholics were beheaded, burned alive, or tied in pairs and thrown down wells until dead...

As for the 5 main martyrs, the authorities still tried to persuade them. On June 15, 1862, the officials demanded they trample the Cross but were refused. They were tied up all day without food or water. The next morning, the officials used sweet words to convince them to renounce their religion, but Mr. Mao replied on behalf of the group: “Sir, please do not try to tempt us. If we feared suffering and abandoned our faith, we would have done so at the start, rather than suffer miserably here. Now, sir, do as you wish, but we will never abandon our religion."

Receiving Glorious Blessings

Furious at their firm refusal, the officials immediately ordered the execution of the five loyal servants of God. The soldiers led them to the execution grounds of Bach Cuc village in Nam Dinh province. The martyr-witnesses prayed, entrusted their souls to the Lord and asked Him for strength to face the final ordeal. Indeed, they demonstrated extraordinary courage. All but Mr. Dominic Nhi requested to be decapitated in 3 strokes instead of one, to honor the Holy Trinity.

On June 16, 1862, the five heroes of the faith were martyred at the execution grounds. Their remains were buried at the site of martyrdom, and moved to their home village church a year later.

On April 29, 1951 Pope Pius XII beatified them. Then on June 19, 1988, Pope John Paul II canonized them as saints.