The holy martyrs rejoiced to share in the suffering of Christ;
they reign with him in eternal glory.

andrea_dung-lac

From the Dominican Ordo:

This group of 117 martyrs suffered for the name of Christ during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in the region known today as Vietnam.  Of this number 96 were Vietnamese, 11 were Spaniards, and 10 were French; 58 were associated with the Missions Étrangères of Paris and 59 were members of the Dominican Family.

The members of the Dominican Family included six bishops, sixteen priests, three memebers of the Priests’ Fraternity of Saint Dominic, ten members of the Dominican laity, and twenty-four of the faithful from Dominican missions. They were martyred at different times and places, eg:

  • Eighteenth Century: the priests Francis Gil de Federich (1745) and Vincent Liem (1773);
  • 1838-1840: the bishops Ignatius Delgado (1838) and Dominic Henares (1838), the priest Joseph Fernández (1838) and twenty-three others;
  • In the year 1861: the bishops Valentine Berrio-Ochoa and Jerome Hermosilla, the priests Joseph Tuâm and Pedro Almató, and the catechist Joseph Khang;
  • During the years 1857-1862: the bishops Jose Maria Diaz Sanjurjo (1857) and Melchior Garcia-Sampedro (1858); several native priests; and Dominic Phan Trong An Kham (1859), a member of the Dominican laity.

For more on the Dominican Martyrs of Vietnam, click here, here, and here.

Compassionate God,
you gave Saint Ignatius and his companions
the courage to be faithful to the cross of your Son,
even to the shedding of their blood.
With the help of their prayers
may we spread your love
among our brothers and sisters
and truly become your children.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.

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