Saint Dominic Vu (Phan) Duc Trach (1793 - 1840) - Vietnamese Martyr Saint

Under the reign of King Gia Long, Priest Dominic Vu (Phan) Duc Trach was born in 1793 in Ngoai Voi village, Nam Dinh province. He lived with the parish priest from a young age and received full seminary training. At the age of 23, he was ordained a priest.

The next year, with the wish to join an order, he entered the Dominican Order and took his vows on June 3, 1825. Despite suffering from tuberculosis, he still lived an ascetic life, fasting and devoting himself to his duties. He was in charge of Quan Cong parish and then went to Luc Thuy to recuperate and teach seminarians.

In 1839, on the way to work, he was arrested in Ngoc Cuc and later ransomed by the Catholic community back home. From then on, he stayed at the homes of Mr. Lang Thien and Mr. Trum Bao in Tra Lu. On April 11, 1840 while visiting fellow priests, he was arrested again and taken to Xuan Truong prefecture then transferred to Nam Dinh for detention.

Here, he was tortured many times, forced to disclose the whereabouts of Father Hermosilla - a Spanish missionary whom the court believed to be the last one not yet captured. But he stubbornly refused, and even invited the general to bow before the Cross.

The governor general became angry, ordered him to be dragged past the Cross but he absolutely refused to step on that holy symbol. On September 18, 1840 King Minh Mang’s death sentence arrived in the hands of Nam Dinh official. Once again, he firmly declined the final chance for amnesty in exchange for stepping over the Cross.

When taken to the execution ground, he happily bade farewell to his colleagues in prison, promising to see them again in heaven. On September 18, 1840, he was beheaded at Bay Mau execution ground, Nam Dinh. His remains were later brought back and buried at Luc Thuy seminary.

Priest Dominic Vu (Phan) Duc Trạch was beatified on May 27, 1900 and canonized a saint on June 19, 1988.