"One must flee as much as possible, but when it is no longer possible, one must submit to the will of God."
That was the spirit of Saint Dominic Vũ Đình Tước, a martyred priest born in 1775 in Trung Lao village, Nam Định province (now part of Trung Lao parish, Bùi Chu Diocese). From an early age, he entered the House of God and continued his studies to be ordained a priest.
After receiving holy orders, Father Dominic joined the Dominican order and made his solemn vows on April 18, 1812. Bishop Delgado – Y appointed him to pastor the Xương Điền parish community, belonging to the Eastern Diocese of Đàng Ngoài. From then on, he served souls with zeal.
During the harsh period of religious prohibition, the priest often hid, sometimes at the home of Mr. Đoài, other times at the home of Mr. Thịnh. Then on April 2, 1839, while Father Dominic was celebrating Mass, the eighth-rank official Phan together with his servants surrounded him, searched him, and arrested him, taking him to Cẩm Hà. It should also be noted that Mr. Phan obtained his eighth-rank position through his service as an informant who denounced and helped capture Bishop Henares – Minh.
When the faithful learned that the eighth-rank official Phan and his underlings were looking to capture the priest to receive a reward, they planned to attack them to free their pastor. The women carried sacks filled with rice husk ash to throw at the crowd of the eighth-rank official's men. The men carried sticks and spears.
While being detained, seeing the parishioners shouting outside, the priest gently advised: "Brothers, doing that will only bring about my death." The headman and the faithful of Xương Điền parish listened calmly.
In the midst of the chaos, the man named Ngọc – an underling of the eighth-rank official Phan – drew a weapon and struck the priest hard on the head. The severe wound caused the priest to collapse to the ground. The group of servants and Phan fled headlong.
Sensing that his final moment had come, the priest asked the faithful to pray in silence. Calm in his dying hour, the priest gave thanks to God for allowing him to suffer for the faith and urged the faithful to keep firm their faith. The wound was too severe, blood flowed heavily, the priest whispered the Holy Name of Jesus, then rested in the Lord. The life-Mass of the martyr was complete.
The priest's body was buried by the faithful at the Xương Điền parish church.
Priest Dominic Vũ Đình Tước was beatified on May 27, 1900, and canonized on June 19, 1988.
The content about the saint in this post is summarized and paraphrased from the book “Hạnh Các Thánh Tử Đạo Việt Nam” - Lives of the Vietnamese Martyrs (Vietnamese Bishops’ Conference, edited by Bishop Peter Nguyễn Văn Khảm, Tôn Giáo Publishing House, 2018). This post is not a verbatim copy but a re‑presentation based on the original source.