Saint Jacinto Castañeda Gia (1743 - 1773) - Vietnamese Martyr Saint

Saint Castañeda - Gia (Jacinto Castañeda) was born in 1743 in Javita, Spain. In 1789, Father Castañeda professed solemn vows in the Dominican Order and received the religious name Jacinto.

Father Jacinto dreamed of being a missionary in the Far East, so he joined an expedition to the Philippines and studied at the Dominican convent in Manila. Here, on June 2, 1765, he was ordained a priest and sent to do missionary work in China.

In 1766, the two priests Jacinto Castañeda and Jose Lavilla arrived in Hangzhou, China. For 3 years, the two zealously served in a parish that had been established before their arrival.

When invited to go administer the anointing of the sick, due to being reported by someone, the two were arrested, taken to Fujian, imprisoned in Fuzhou county and expelled to Macau. From Macau, on January 22, 1770, Father Jacinto came to Vietnam and was sent to learn Vietnamese in Trung Linh, receiving the Vietnamese name Gia, then was assigned to pastoral ministry in Phu Thai parish.

On July 11, 1773, while traveling from Ke Non to Lai On to administer the anointing of the sick to a patient, Father Gia and Brother Tan were surrounded and arrested by the mandarin of Thanh Khe. When the two fled into Gia Dao village, the homeowner unexpectedly reported them to the authorities to collect a reward. The mandarin demanded a ransom of 3,000 coins but the priest replied: "If the mandarin wants to release me then release me, but I have no money. I am ready to endure all hardships, even death."

The mandarin took the priest to Pho Hien then to Ke Cho (Hanoi) for Lord Trinh Sam to judge. Here, the priest took part in a debate between 4 religions: Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and Catholicism. With his preaching experience and understanding of religions in China, the priest's responses caused the lord to greatly admire him.

On November 7, 1773, according to the sentence of Lord Trinh Sam, the priest was executed by beheading at the Dong Mo execution grounds. His remains were buried in Trung Linh.

The priest Jacinto Castaneda - Gia was beatified on May 20, 1906 and canonized on June 19, 1988.