Saint Peter Lê Tùy was born in 1773 into a middle-class farming family in the village of Bằng Sở, belonging to the Sở Hạ parish—now in Thanh Trì district, Hanoi. From a young age, young Tùy pursued a religious vocation and was admitted to the Kẻ Vĩnh seminary in Nam Định province. After a period of study and formation, he was ordained a priest and zealously served in various parishes: first as the assistant pastor of Đông Thành (Chân Lộc), and later as the head pastor of Nam Đường parish in Nghệ An province.
In 1833, King Minh Mạng issued an edict banning the religion. In the Autumn of the same year, while on his way to administer the last rites to a dying patient, Father Lê Tùy was arrested. News of his arrest spread quickly to the faithful, who hurried to the district magistrate offering to pay a ransom for his life. The district magistrate agreed to release him, but demanded that the father declare he was merely a doctor visiting a patient.
Father Tùy resolutely refused to give that false testimony. Consequently, he was taken and imprisoned in the Nghệ An provincial prison. At the tribunal, the judge asked: "Are you a religious leader?", the father firmly replied: "Yes, I am a religious leader of the Christian faith!"
Moved to pity, the official said: "Listen, you are old, I pity you, but the law of the land is strict. You should write a statement declaring yourself a doctor, that way I can save you from a disgraceful death. Are you not afraid to die?" Father Tùy calmly replied: "I thank Your Honor for wishing to save me, but the conscience of a Christian religious leader does not permit me to act according to Your Honor's wish."
The official drew up a sentencing document to send to the capital, thinking the 60-year-old man would only be fined. However, King Minh Mạng personally endorsed the sentence with a vermilion brush: "The individual Lê Tùy has confessed to being a religious leader and spreading a heterodox religion among the people, he must be executed by beheading."
On October 11, 1833, the sentence was carried out at the Chợ Quân Ban execution ground. In his final moments, Father Tùy requested to kneel on a mat to pray. He also advised Mr. Thu—who was by his side—saying: "My child, be steadfast and resolute, and you too will receive an eternal reward."
His remains were initially buried at the Tràng Nứa chapel, and were later transferred for burial in his homeland of Bằng Sở.
Father Peter Lê Tùy 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.