In 1843, a boy was born into a simple farming family in the Hoàng Xá sub-parish, part of the Ngọc Đồng parish, in Hưng Yên Province (now Hải Hưng). Given the baptismal name Joseph, the boy Phạm Quang Túc grew up with a gentle and devout nature. Although his parents spent all year working in the rice fields, his father did not want his son to follow in the footsteps of a life "with feet caked in mud." He brought in a teacher to instruct the boy in Classical Chinese, nurturing the hope that his son would pursue the path of a mandarin scholar.

However, a great upheaval arrived in 1861, when the edict banning Christianity was issued down to every village. Catholics everywhere were oppressed: their gardens and fields were destroyed, their buffaloes and cattle were confiscated, and their property was divided among the non-Catholic populace. Young Túc's family did not escape this fate. His dream of studying the classics was left unfulfilled.

In the spring of 1862, young Túc was arrested at the age of 19. For the following four months, he was held in solitary confinement at Đông Khê prison, in Khoái Châu district. His family tried to bribe the officials, hoping to help him escape. But the young man firmly refused:

"I will not escape by any means, because if I escape, it will cause suffering for others. What does the Lord want? I accept His will!"

Afterwards, he was transferred to the prison in the town of Hưng Yên. Neither the beatings and torture nor the words of seduction could shake a soul that had placed its complete trust in God. The mandarins and their soldiers had no choice but to draw up a request for a decapitation sentence and submit it to the imperial capital, Huế.

On June 1, 1862, during the reign of Emperor Tự Đức, the witness of the faith, Phạm Quang Túc, was executed by decapitation. Mr. Hưng – a witness present at the execution ground – later recounted this before the tribunal for beatification:

"I followed young Túc out to the execution ground. He was fervently praying all the while, and his mouth never ceased pronouncing the most holy name of the Lord Jesus. After that, young Túc was beheaded, and I buried his body with proper respect."

Mrs. Linh herself also related:

"I saw the head of the servant of God thrown up high by the executioner for the supervising mandarin to see, in order to report to the high-ranking mandarin that they had carried out the sentence. His remains were later reburied at the Ngọc Đồng parish church."

The witness of the faith, Joseph Phạm Quang Túc, was raised to the rank of Venerable by the Pope on May 27, 1900, and was canonized as a saint on June 19, 1988.