Saint John Doan Viet Dat (1765 - 1798) - Vietnamese Martyr Saint

Saint John Doan Viet Dat was born on June 17, 1765 in Dong Chuoi, Binh Luc district, Ha Nam province. Although fatherless from a young age, he still wished to dedicate his life to God. Finally, in 1783 at the age of 18, his mother agreed to send him to the parish of Dong Chuoi to ask Father Joseph Loan to accept him to stay at the parish house. In 1783, when he was 18 years old, Father Loan sent him to the seminary to study Latin. After finishing the seminary, he was ordained a deacon and went to assist various parishes. In February 1798, he was ordained a priest at the age of 33. The Bishop sent Father Dat to assist the parish of Hao Nho.

When he arrived to assist at the parish of Hao Nho, he wholeheartedly cared for and loved the parishioners, so he was greatly loved by everyone. Father Chinh, the missionary priest at that time, testified: "Father Dat had the virtues of poverty, obedience and diligence in reading books, and was hardworking in pastoral work. Although frequently ill, he never complained or grumbled about anything, so he was greatly esteemed by the Bishop and other priests. When preaching, his fervent spirit made those who had sinned feel remorse and want to repent."

In July 1798, the Tay Son king issued a strict decree banning Christianity more severely than previous times. The mandarins sent soldiers to arrest priests, parishioners and destroy churches. The Hao Nho parishioners took Father Dat to hide in the mountains. When the situation became calm again, at night he came down to the house of the leader Mai Le to celebrate Mass. At around 5am, just after finishing Mass, some soldiers raided and caught him red-handed. The leader Mai Le had to admit to inviting the priest. At that time, Father Dat was hiding in the house but refused to escape despite the parishioners' pleas. He said: "If I escape, the whole village will get into trouble." He willingly surrendered himself.

The soldiers arrested him along with the deacon Tam and 3 parishioners: the leader Mai Le, Mr. Danh and Mr. Viet. On July 14 of that year, the commander of the arresting team named Nam Cuong interrogated them. Although some tried to rescue him, he refused. For over 3 months until the trial, he remained cheerful and kind to everyone.

Many parishioners came to visit him. No matter who came, he received them graciously, consoled and advised them to remain steadfast in the faith. He often reminded them: "To suffer hardship and die for the faith is a great grace that throughout the world in all ages, many have been granted. In our country, there are still few such people."

When brought to the court, the mandarins pressured him to step on the Cross to be pardoned. But he firmly refused. Seeing his steadfastness, they ordered him to be dragged but he lay face down on the ground to show his reverence before the Cross.

Knowing the death sentence was near, the priests arranged for Father Joseph Huan to visit and give him confession. On the evening of September 19, he begged the mandarin to treat the imprisoned fellow believers humanely. On October 28, 1798, after praying and facing the church of Trinh Ha, he was executed at the court of Cho Ra market, at the age of 33, less than a year after being ordained a priest. The parishioners brought his remains to be buried at Phuc Nhac wharf and later secretly kept them in a private home for better preservation.

He was the second martyr for the Catholic faith, after Saint Emmanuel Nguyen Van Trieu (martyred on September 17, 1798).

On May 27, 1900, he was beatified and on June 19, 1988 he was canonized a Saint.