Saint Paul Tống Viết Bường – The Loyal Palace Guard Who Remained Faithful to the End For His Faith - Saints Martyred For The Faith in Vietnam
Saint Paul Tống Viết Bường was born in 1773 in Phủ Cam, which belongs to the present-day Archdiocese of Huế. He came from a multi-generational Catholic family that revered God and served the Lord Nguyễn court. As an upright official, he held the position of palace guard and was praised multiple times by King Minh Mạng. Despite being busy with military affairs, he always remained faithful in living his religion and taught his children to hold firm to the faith.

He had two wives and a total of twelve children. Once, after quelling a rebel force, the officials and soldiers went to the Non Nước pagoda to give thanks to "Heaven and Buddha," but he refused to participate because he was Catholic. This matter reached King Minh Mạng's ears. Before the court, Guard Bường resolutely professed his faith. The king became enraged and decided to behead him, but thanks to the intercession of high-ranking mandarins, he was only punished with 80 lashes, stripped of all his titles and ranks, and demoted to commoner status.

In 1832, while reviewing the list of Catholic soldiers, King Minh Mạng discovered his name was missing – as he had been dismissed from his post – and thus ordered his imprisonment in the Trấn Phủ prison. In prison, despite being shackled, tortured, and enticed with the restoration of his ranks if he renounced his faith, he remained single-heartedly steadfast. When the Minister of Justice, Võ Xuân Cần, advised him to deny his religion, the saint humbly replied: "If your excellency has compassion for me, then I am grateful to your excellency, but please allow me to keep my complete loyalty to God the Lord, the God I worship."

Because he had many merits with the court, King Minh Mạng wanted to carry out the sentence discreetly. On October 23, 1833, he was beheaded at the Thợ Đúc execution ground in the evening. His body was interred in the sanctuary of Phủ Cam church.

Saint Paul Tống Viết Bường was elevated to the rank of Blessed by Pope Leo XIII on May 27, 1900, and was canonized as a saint by Pope John Paul II on June 19, 1988.