Saint Francis Xavier Nguyen Can (1803 - 1837) - Vietnamese Martyr Saint

Francis Xavier Nguyen Can was born in 1803 in Son Mieng village, Ung Hoa district, Hanoi. He came from a devout Catholic family. As the second of five siblings, Francis had a desire to serve God from a young age. However, his mother opposed his decision due to her deep love for him. After many unsuccessful pleas, Francis told his mother that if she did not allow him to live with the local priest, he would run away. Finally, his mother permitted him to stay with Father Nghi, the parish priest of Son Mieng.

After some time, Francis Nguyen Can entered the seminary and became a teacher. He was called to serve by Bishop Jean Marie Havard-Du and Father Retord-Lieu, who later became the Bishop of West Tonkin. During his service to these two prelates, Nguyen Can was regarded as a virtuous, honest, diligent person who helped those in need and guided sinners to repentance.

On March 5, 1836, while traveling, Nguyen Can was framed by a mandarin named Tit, who hid sacred images in his luggage and accused him, resulting in his arrest. The next morning, March 6, 1836, he was taken to Thanh Oai district and tortured three times, with three days between each session:

1. The district official asked his name, origin, and pressured him to step on the cross. Nguyen Can revealed his name and place of origin but refused to step on the cross due to his faith.
2. The official continued to insist that he step on the cross, but Nguyen Can remained silent. When offered food, he knelt and recited prayers of thanksgiving. When requested, he recited the Ten Commandments and explained how to pray the rosary.
3. Nguyen Can still refused to step on the cross.

After eight months of imprisonment and torture in Thanh Oai, on November 20, 1837, the officials, unable to break Nguyen Can's resolve, ordered his execution. Before being hanged, the supervisor offered him freedom if he stepped on the cross, but Nguyen Can remained steadfast in his faith. Fearing he might revive, the officials decapitated him after his death.

Francis Xavier Nguyen Can's remains were initially buried at Chan Son and later reburied at the Son Mieng parish church. Part of his relics were also brought to the Grand Seminary and the Archbishop's Palace in Lyon.

About Nguyen Can, Bishop Jean Marie Havard-Du said: "I never expected that the one who had previously lived with us, observing the ordinary rules of virtue, but when facing hardship alone with God, without any previous example to follow, would remain so firm and resolute during interrogations, bringing glory to God in this way."

Francis Xavier Nguyen Can was beatified on May 27, 1900, and canonized on June 19, 1988.