Saint Vinh Sơn Nguyễn Thế Điểm was born in 1761 in An Do Nam village, Quảng Trị Province, into a family of three children. As a child, he tended buffalo; later, he entered the seminary, studied Latin, assisted missionary priest Jacques Longer (Gia), studied philosophy at the Kẻ Vĩnh Seminary, and was ordained a priest for the West Tonkin Diocese (Giáo phận Tây Đàng Ngoài).
For thirty years, Father Điểm served in several parishes—including Cồn Nâm (Đông Đưng), Lũ Đăng, and Đan Sa—as well as numerous smaller communities within the Bố Chính region. He lived a gentle life, celebrating Mass daily, reciting prayers and the Rosary diligently, and engaging in spiritual meditation. Though elderly, he continued fasting two days a week, instructing students, actively preaching the Gospel to non-Christians, and sending catechists to baptize unbaptized children.
On July 27, 1838, upon hearing that Father Khoa had been arrested, Father Điểm sought refuge in An Bì village, but was refused. While working in a field near Đan Sa village, Quảng Bình Province, he was captured. Three days later, missionary priest Borie (Cao) and catechist Nguyễn Khắc Tự were also arrested; all three were taken to the Đồng Hới district court.
There, due to his advanced age (77 years old) and fear, Father Điểm revealed the names of several families who had sheltered him. Upon realizing this endangered the faithful, he immediately addressed the mandarin:
“Because I am old and frightened by your threats and scolding, I spoke—and now many believers are implicated. Therefore, I humbly ask you, sir, to show mercy: please disregard their involvement and release them. As for me, I accept full responsibility.”
On the morning of November 24, 1838, at the Đồng Hới execution ground, after praying, Father Vinh Sơn was sentenced to death by strangulation. His body was initially buried in Đồng Hới and later reinterred in the Hướng Phương parish.
He was beatified on May 27, 1900, and canonized by Pope John Paul II on June 19, 1988.