Lord, have mercy on me.
Jesus, grant me strength and courage to endure suffering for Your glory.
Mary, support me.

Saint Philipphê Phan Văn Minh was born in 1815 in the Cái Mơn parish, Mỏ Cày District, Vĩnh Long Province. He was the twelfth of fourteen children in a devout Catholic family.

At age 13, after receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation from Bishop Jean Taberd in Cái Mơn, young Minh asked to enter the Latin school. Soon afterward, he was admitted to the Lái Thiêu Seminary. When the seminary was besieged, Bishop Taberd transferred the seminarians to the Penang Seminary (Malaysia). There, Minh excelled in Latin, French, chữ Quốc ngữ (Vietnamese script), and chữ Nho (classical Chinese characters).

In 1838, he and fellow seminarian Hoan were summoned by Bishop Taberd to Calcutta (India) to assist in compiling a Latin–Vietnamese dictionary. However, the bishop passed away in 1840, and the two seminarians returned to Penang, bringing with them some printed volumes of the dictionary.

After completing his studies, Minh returned to Vietnam and served pastoral duties alongside Bishop Cuenot in Gò Thị (Bình Định Province). At the end of 1846, at only 31 years old, he was ordained a priest by Bishop Cuenot during a period of severe persecution against the faith.

Father Minh was assigned to oversee parishes stretching from Mặc Bắc to Nam Vang, and he became known for his deep devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and his fervent commitment to nurturing vocations.

On one occasion, local officials arrested and tortured parish leaders Mr. and Mrs. Lựu in an attempt to locate the priest. Seeing their two children weeping, Father Minh voluntarily stepped forward and declared: “Please stop, sir—I am Father Minh.” He and several faithful were then taken and imprisoned in Vĩnh Long.

On July 3, 1853, the execution order from Huế was carried out. Father Minh calmly recited the rosary as he walked to the place of execution. His final prayer was:
“Lord, have mercy on me.
Jesus, grant me strength and courage to endure suffering for Your glory.
Mary, support me.”

His remains were buried at Cái Mơn Church. In 1960, his relics were transferred to Đức Bà Cathedral (Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica) in Sài Gòn, on the occasion of the church’s dedication ceremony.

Father Philipphê Phan Văn Minh was beatified on May 27, 1900, and canonized by Pope John Paul II on June 19, 1988.