Saint Thomas Tran Van Thien (Thánh Tôma Trần Văn Thiện)
Seminarist (1820 – 1838)
Martyrdom date: September 21
“I desire only the authority of heaven, not the honors of this world.”

Saint Thomas Tran Van Thien was born in 1820 in Trung Quán village, Quảng Bình Province, into a devout Catholic family. At age 9, he began studying Classical Chinese (chữ Nho) and catechism, and served as an altar boy in the Mỹ Hương parish community. Owing to his intelligence and piety, he was sent to study Latin with Father Chính in the Kẻ Sen parish community.

At age 18 (1838), he was summoned to the Di Loan Seminary in Quảng Trị Province. While traveling with his sister, he was arrested by soldiers, as local authorities were then intensively searching for “Western religious leaders.” Though he had no connection to such individuals, he was brought before the provincial court in Quảng Trị.

Knowing he was a seminarian, the provincial mandarin interrogated him closely, hoping to obtain information about Father Kim. He tried to persuade Thomas: if he renounced his faith, he would be released—and even offered to adopt him as a son-in-law and grant him a high-ranking position. Thomas responded frankly:
“I desire only the authority of heaven, not the honors of this world.”

In prison, he fasted and prayed for those who had renounced their faith, and was imprisoned alongside Father Jaccard (Phan). Though shackled, he regarded his cell as a seminary and joyfully received spiritual instruction from Father Jaccard.

On September 17, 1838, Emperor Minh Mạng approved the sentence of strangulation for Thomas and Father Jaccard. On September 21, the execution was carried out at the Nhan Biều execution ground, beside the Thạch Hãn River, outside the citadel of Quảng Trị.

Before his death, Thomas made his confession to Father Jaccard. The two knelt on separate mats, silently praying. Soldiers removed their shackles, replaced them with ropes, and carried out the sentence.

His remains were buried at the Nhan Biều execution ground. In 1847, his relics were transferred to the chapel of the Paris Foreign Missions Society (MEP). In 2012, the Diocese built a shrine in Nhan Biều to honor Father Jaccard and the seminarian Thomas Thien.

He was declared Venerable on May 27, 1900, and canonized by Pope John Paul II on June 19, 1988.