Saint Thomas Tran Van Thien (1820 - 1838) - Vietnamese Martyr Saint

Saint Thomas Tran Van Thien was born in 1820 in Trung Quan village, Quang Binh province, in a devout family. At nine years old in 1829, young Thien began studying Chinese characters, catechism, and assisting with Mass at My Huong parish. Thien proved very intelligent and was sent to study Latin with Father Chinh at Ke Sen parish. Due to his good character and intelligence, at 18 years old in 1838, Thien was called to Di Loan Seminary in Quang Tri by Director Father Candalh Kim.

Thien and his eldest sister hurried on their way, but upon arriving at Di Loan, they encountered soldiers surrounding the village searching for Western religious leaders without success. The officials ordered the arrest of several parishioners, including Thien, and brought them to the Quang Tri courthouse. The provincial official, hearing that Thien was a seminarian of Father Kim, ordered thorough questioning to discover the priest's hiding place, then advised Thien to renounce his faith if he didn't want to die.

Seeing that Thien was young and handsome, the official promised that if he renounced his faith, he would not only be freed but also taken as a son-in-law and given a position. But Thien refused: "I only aspire to heavenly authority, not worldly power."

In prison, witnessing many renounce their faith, Thien increased his fasting and prayers for those who had denied their faith to repent quickly. Notably, in prison, being shackled and imprisoned with Father Jaccard-Phan, Thien joyfully received the priest's teachings and advice, turning the prison into a seminary for him.

On September 17, 1838, Emperor Minh Mang approved the sentence to execute seminarian Thien and missionary Jaccard-Phan by strangulation. The sentence was carried out on September 21, 1838, at Nhan Bieu execution ground, beside the Thach Han River, outside Quang Tri citadel.

Thien prepared himself and asked Father Jaccard-Phan for a final confession. The two witnesses of faith quietly knelt to pray on two prepared mats. Soldiers came to remove the shackles from their necks, replacing them with long ropes, and carried out the strangulation sentence.

Seminarian Thomas Tran Van Thien had offered his entire youthful life to God of love. His body was buried at the Nhan Bieu execution ground. In 1847, all his remains were respectfully transferred to the Chapel of the Paris Foreign Missions Society. At the execution site, Nhan Bieu, in 2012, the Diocese built a shrine honoring Father Jaccard-Phan and Brother Thomas Thien.

Seminarian Thomas Tran Van Thien was beatified on May 27, 1900, and canonized on June 19, 1988.