Saint Joseph Nguyễn Đình Nghi, also known by another name as Joseph Kim, was born in 1793 in the village of Hà Hồi, Thượng Phúc district, Thường Tín prefecture (now part of Hà Nội province). After his ordination to the priesthood, he changed his name to Joseph Nghi.

From a young age, the boy Nghi went to live at the house of God with Father Liêm, the pastor of Kẻ Vồi. After completing his studies in Latin and serving as a catechist, he returned to assist his former pastor. It was not until the age of thirty that he was ordained a priest.

Following his ordination, Father Nghi was successively sent to assist the parishes of Sơn Miêng, Kẻ Bạc, and Phúc Nhạc. Serving for ten years as the pastor of Đa Phạn, and then for two or three years caring for the faithful of Kẻ Báng, that was the period during which he clearly demonstrated his solemn virtue and his skillful talent, always seeking to counsel and bring back those who were lukewarm.

On the morning of April 29, 1840, a large-scale raid led by Governor-General Trịnh Quang Khanh and District Magistrate Thiên Bổn took place in the village of Kẻ Báng. Their targets were three priests: Father Nghi, Father Ngân, and Father Thịnh. One day later, Fathers Nghi and Ngân fell into the net; by the morning of May 1, Father Thịnh was also captured.

When forced to step over the cross, Father Nghi's response rang out, brief yet full of spirit: "Sir, we ask you for just a slice of the sword." It was this unwavering declaration of faith that angered the mandarin and his troops, who ordered Fathers Nghi and Ngân to be beaten with fifty strokes of the rod. The sentence from the imperial capital arrived on November 8, 1840, condemning all three priests to be decapitated that very day. The bodies of Father Nghi and Father Ngân were subsequently buried next to the church in Kẻ Báng.

In recognition of his merit and courage, the Church beatified the priest Joseph Nguyễn Đình Nghi on May 27, 1900, and canonized him on June 19, 1988.