Saint Francis Xavier Nguyễn Cần was born in 1803 in Sơn Miêng village, Ứng Hoà district, Hà Nội, into a devoutly religious family. As the second of five children, he yearned to devote himself to God from a young age. Although his mother initially disagreed, he insisted on going to live with the parish priest and was later admitted to the seminary, becoming a catechist.

Cần once collaborated with Bishop Jean Marie Havard - Du, Bishop of Western Tonkin, and then with Father Retord - Liêu (who later also became Bishop of Western Tonkin). All who knew him noted that he was devout, upright, diligent, and always ready to help the poor and sinners repent and return to the faith.

On March 5, 1836, as he neared the communal house of Kẻ Vác village, he was falsely accused by the village chief Tít, who planted a Saint's image in his bundle to have him arrested. The next morning, he was taken to Thanh Oai district and tortured three times, with three days between each session. During the interrogations, the district magistrate repeatedly pressured him to step on a crucifix, but he firmly refused each time, affirming: "We worship the one God of Heaven and Earth who created us; I dare not step on His image."

When eating, he still knelt to say grace, and when asked to recite prayers, he recited the Ten Commandments of God and the Six Precepts of the Church, while also explaining how to pray the rosary. Throughout eight months of imprisonment, he held firm to his faith. When his elderly mother visited, he comforted her: "Mother, do not worry about me; just keep practicing the faith devoutly. For my part, this is something I have long desired and only now have obtained."

On November 20, 1837, at the Cầu Giấy city gate, the supervising official made a final attempt, urging him to step on the crucifix to be freed. He replied: "A loyal servant has no divided heart. I thank Your Excellency for your kindness, but please proceed according to the law." The soldiers then pulled the rope to strangle him. After he breathed his last, the official, fearing he might revive as rumors said Christians could, ordered his throat to be cut.

His body was buried at Chân Sơn and later reinterred at the parish church of Sơn Miêng. A portion of his remains were taken by Bishop Retord - Liêu to the Major Seminary and the Bishop's Palace of the Lyon diocese.

Bishop Jean Marie Havard - Du once remarked about him: "Who would have thought that the one who previously lived with us, observing ordinary religious discipline, would, when thrown into the ordeal, alone with God and without any previous example to follow, stand so firm and steadfast during interrogations, thus glorifying God's name in such a manner."

Catechist Francis Xavier Nguyễn Cần was elevated to the rank of Blessed on May 27, 1900, and was canonized a Saint by His Holiness Pope John Paul II on June 19, 1988.