Born in 1805 in Kẻ Báng village, Vụ Bản district, Nam Định province, Saint John the Baptist Trần Ngọc Cỏn lived a simple life as a farmer within a harmonious household. Thanks to the reputation he gained after successfully suing a village chief who had abused his power and seized villagers’ property, he was trusted by the people and elected to be village chief.
In this role, he was both dedicated to public affairs and fervent in serving the Catholic community. He once went out in the rain at night to find and invite a priest to attend to a dying patient. When Emperor Minh Mạng ordered the arrest of missionaries, he also arranged for clergy to hide in the village and provided them with medicine and care.
On May 30, 1840, after receiving a secret report, Governor-General Trịnh Quang Khanh personally led a large contingent of soldiers to surround Kẻ Báng village. After two days, they captured three Vietnamese priests along with Mr. Thọ and Mr. Cỏn. Charged with harboring religious leaders, village chief Cỏn was put in the cangue and taken to the public office in Nam Định for trial.
Faced with coercion, the two men were given fifty lashes, exposed to the sun, and left in hunger and thirst until evening. When they could not be persuaded, the governor ordered soldiers to carry the two men over an image used for renouncing the faith. The two men drew up their legs and shouted loudly: “The faith lies in the heart. If we are forced by the governor but our hearts do not consent, then we are not guilty!”
Enraged, the governor ordered them tortured. Upon hearing that the death sentence was imminent, Mr. Cỏn requested to receive the Sacrament of Confession for the last time.
On November 8, 1840, at the execution ground, he knelt in prayer, then held out his hands to be tied to the stake and was executed. His body was buried in his homeland of Kẻ Báng.
Village chief John the Baptist Trần Ngọc Cỏn 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.