Saint Dominic Nguyen Van Xuyen (1786 - 1839) - Vietnamese Martyr Saint

Saint Dominic Nguyen Van Xuyen, also known as Doan, was born in 1786 in Hung Lap village, Nam Dinh (now Tan My parish, Nguyet Lang, Thai Binh). From a young age, his parents entrusted him to Bishop Delgado Y, and he was sent to the seminary and ordained a priest in 1819.

Also in 1819, Father Xuyen joined the Dominican Order. He subsequently served as pastor at the Pham Phao - Bui Chu parish, Ke Men parish in Thai Binh where he established the new Thanh Minh parish (now Thanh Minh parish), and Dong Xuyen parish. In 1836, he was appointed assistant at the Ninh Cuong Seminary. The following year, he assisted Bishop Delgado Y in administering the Diocese of Dong Dang Ngoai.

When Bishop Delgado Y had to go into hiding and was eventually arrested, Father Xuyen went into hiding while also assisting the Ha Linh parish. On August 18, 1838, at the Phu Duong sub-parish of Ha Linh, a former teacher from Bui Chu recognized Father Xuyen and reported him to the authorities to claim a reward. As Father Xuyen had just finished celebrating Mass and heard the soldiers arriving, he hastily consumed the Holy Eucharist, removed his priestly garb in preparation to flee, but it was too late.

When arrested, the provincial authorities demanded a ransom for his release, but Father Xuyen replied that he had no money; if they wished to free him they could, otherwise he would accept imprisonment. The parishioners of Ha Linh later raised funds to pay his ransom, but failed as the provincial authorities already knew of the case. Upon hearing this, Father Xuyen consoled the parishioners, telling them to use the money for the parish instead of wasting it, and asking them to pray for him.

Knowing Father Xuyen was the administrator of the episcopal see, Trinh Quang Khanh sought to extract the diocese's assets through torture. But the soldier of faith only called upon the Blessed Mother for help until he passed out and had to be carried back to prison. In subsequent torture sessions, he endured the pain silently. Despite increasingly harsh punishments, he courageously told the authorities that whether living or dying, he would never renounce his faith.

While imprisoned, Father Dominic Xuyen composed folk verses to express his sentiments and encourage the faithful to remain steadfast.

On November 26, 1839, Father Xuyen was led to the Bay Mau execution grounds along with Father Dinh Duc Du to be executed. Before their execution, the two priests were jailed together to confess and encourage each other's resolve. When asked one last time if they would apostatize to be spared, both refused. They were then bound to stakes and beheaded. Father Xuyen's remains were initially buried at the execution site, and in early 1841 were reinterred at Luc Thuy.

The Dominican priest Dominic Nguyen Van Xuyen was beatified on May 27, 1900 and canonized on June 19, 1988.