"Child, forgive, do not seek revenge against those who denounced me."

Saint Emmanuel Lê Văn Phụng was born in 1796 at Đầu Nước parish (Cù Lao Giêng), An Giang province, Châu Đốc town. Because of his upright, honest character and his fervent dedication to the common good, he was trusted by the Catholic faithful and elected ông câu (village headman) of Đầu Nước parish.

Thanks to his many talents and virtues, ông câu Phụng mobilized the faithful of the entire parish to contribute labor and money to rebuild the parish church in a spacious, airy manner and to build the house of the sisters of the Providence of God congregation. He turned Đầu Nước parish into a safe haven for missionaries and the local clergy.

Ông câu Phụng longed to have a priest stay at Đầu Nước parish to celebrate Holy Mass for the faithful. During major feasts, by any means necessary, he would seek to bring a priest to celebrate Mass or to anoint the dying sick. During an epidemic, ông câu bought a small boat and steered it himself, bringing the priest everywhere to administer the sacraments to his sheep in their final hour.

The local district chief (quan huyện) observed that the practice of the Christian faith did not cause disorder or danger to the village and the country. Moreover, the district chief's household regularly received financial support from ông câu Phụng. Therefore, whenever there was an order to search or hunt for priests, the district chief secretly sent someone to warn ông câu Phụng in advance, giving him enough time to inform the faithful so they could hide sacred images and worship objects.

Unfortunately, in the area there were two professional gamblers named Nên and Miêu. These two wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to make money, so they took turns climbing a mango tree near the garden of ông câu Phụng's house to monitor and observe what was happening inside. In the winter of 1858, these two spotted the figure of the missionary priest Pernot – Định temporarily residing in ông câu Phụng's house.

That night, after everyone had fallen asleep, missionary Jean Pernot – Định opened the door to walk in the backyard, breathe the fresh air, and pray the Rosary. The two spies saw this, quickly ran to report it to the military governor (quan trấn thủ) of Châu Đốc. They denounced ông câu Phụng's family for harboring a Western priest and requested that the military commander be dispatched immediately to send soldiers to make the arrest, not to use the district chief's soldiers, because in their opinion the district chief had taken bribes, colluded with Catholics, and helped them cover things up.

On the morning of January 7, 1859, ông câu Phụng was still unaware that government soldiers had arrived at his house. Just as Father Pernot – Định and Father Đoàn Công Quý (the new pastor of Đầu Nước parish) had finished celebrating Mass, someone ran up to report that the military governor of Châu Đốc, traveling by boat and by land, was approaching to surround ông câu Phụng's house. Calmly, ông câu asked Mr. Biện Vi to take the two priests to hide, but Father Quý decided to stay, thinking that he could blend into the crowd and escape.

The government soldiers burst into the house, arrested and tied up ông câu Phụng, and threatened to beat him. Seeing this, Father Quý was moved with compassion and confessed that he himself was a priest. The military commander ordered the arrest and binding of Father Quý, ông câu Phụng, and 32 Catholics, escorting them back to Châu Đốc. At the courthouse, ông câu stood up and fearlessly confirmed that his family had welcomed and provided shelter to Western priests.

For six months in prison, despite being tortured, persuaded, and enticed, ông câu remained resolutely silent, refusing to report on the missionaries and refusing to abandon the faith. Having no hope that the prisoners of faith would change their minds, the military governor of Châu Đốc sent the sentence to the capital to request that Emperor Tự Đức order the execution by strangulation (xử giảo) of ông câu for the crime of sheltering a priest.

On July 31, 1859, the two were led out of the city through the left gate to Cây Mẹt, Chà Và hamlet. Ông câu Phụng's dying words to his children were to forgive those who had denounced him, and he asked to be buried next to the pastor. The two silently knelt down, and Father Quý administered the Sacrament of Penance (Bí tích Giải tội) to ông câu Phụng. After three gong signals, Father Quý was beheaded; ông câu Phụng was strangled with a rope. In the afternoon, the military governor allowed the family and relatives to take the body of ông câu Phụng back for burial within the foundation of the parish church of Đầu Nước.

Ông câu Emmanuel Lê Văn Phụng was raised to the rank of Blessed on May 2, 1909, and was canonized on June 19, 1988.