Saint Francis Nguyen Van Trung (1825 - 1858) - Vietnamese Martyr Saint

Saint Francis Nguyen Van Trung was born in 1825 in Phan Xa village, Quang Tri province. Orphaned by his father at a young age, he was raised and educated in the faith by his virtuous and devout mother. Trung married a young woman from the same village in Phan Xa, and they had four children.

Following the devout family tradition, Trung was dedicated to educating his children. Each year during the holy Lenten season, when a priest came to preach a retreat at the Phan Xa parish, the whole family fervently received the sacraments.

As a squad leader, Trung and eleven of his fellow squad members had to undergo a selection examination. While his comrades all bribed the examining officials to pass, Trung alone did not. As a result, all of them passed except for Trung. However, due to the uneven distribution of the bribery money among the officials, a dispute arose. The story reached King Tu Duc, and all twelve squad leaders, including Trung, were imprisoned.

In 1859, as the French navy under Rear Admiral Rigault de Genouilly attacked the coast of Da Nang, King Tu Duc gave the prisoners, including Trung, a choice: either continue serving their prison sentences or join the army to fight the foreign invaders. Along with his fellow prisoners, Trung volunteered to join the military to defend the country. However, still doubting the loyalty of the Christian soldiers, King Tu Duc demanded that they perform the rite of burning incense and trampling on the Cross to demonstrate their allegiance. Trung alone refused to do anything contrary to his Catholic faith and was imprisoned awaiting trial. During this time, he advised his wife that if he died, she should remain at peace and raise their children, and not remarry.

On the morning of October 6, 1858, five high-ranking officials on horseback and 60 soldiers escorted Trung to the execution grounds near An Hoa market to carry out the sentence. Before the execution, a priest named Thoai sent word to Trung that upon arriving, he should look straight ahead, and when he saw a man standing there smoking a lit pipe, that would be the priest. At that moment, Trung should bow his head to confess and receive the sacrament of penance for the last time. However, at the last minute, the officials disagreed about whether to execute Trung or not, fearing it would give the French a justifiable reason to attack. Therefore, they decided to postpone the execution and report to King Tu Duc for further instructions.

At 8 p.m. that same day, the order from the Thai Hoa Palace was sent down, commanding King Tu Duc to execute Trung. The officials immediately summoned Trung to the execution grounds to carry out the sentence. Trung knelt and was beheaded, sacrificing his life on October 6, 1858. On October 8, 1858, the faithful carried his remains and buried them in the church of the Duong Son parish.

On May 2, 1909, Squad Leader Francis Nguyen Van Trung was beatified, and on June 19, 1988, he was officially canonized as a saint.