HANOI (UCAN): Thousands of people, many from neighbouring provinces, attended a special Mass to mark the 184th anniversary of the martyrdom of Anthony Nguyen Tien Dich [1769 to 1838] and Michael Nguyen Huy My [1804 to 1838] at Vinh Tri Church in Y Yen district of Nam Dinh province, Vietnam.
Archbishop Joseph Vu Van Thien of Hanoi presided at the ceremony joined by 20 priests and Emeritus Bishop Joseph Nguyen Van Yen of Phat Diem, who has an ancestral tie to Anthony Nguyen and is from the age-old parish of Vinh Tri that was their home.
“Saint martyrs Anthony Nguyen and Michael Nguyen are the great pride of our parish and the archdiocese. We commemorate them with heartfelt gratitude and filial duty,” Archbishop Vu said.
The archbishop said that during the time of religious persecution in the 19th century, local Catholics were forced to reject their faith by crossing crosses, otherwise they would be condemned to brutal torture and death. The two martyrs categorically refused to abandon their faith and bravely accepted death.
Archbishop Vu asked them to follow their ancestors’ shining examples by being loyal to the Christian faith, looking after their own families and actively participating in activities in Church and society.
Saint martyrs Anthony Nguyen and Michael Nguyen are the great pride of our parish and the archdiocese. We commemorate them with heartfelt gratitude and filial duty,
Archbishop Vu
On the previous evening, local people with candles and torches in their hands processed the martyrs’ relics on a colourful base around their village, and young people in traditional costumes put on cultural performances and plays about the lives of the martyrs in front of the church.
A lay leader said that St. Dich and St. My offered local people perfect examples of bearing witness to the faith and glorifying God through their own deaths; like an epic song. Local people are committed to living a life worthy of being children of God in a fast-changing world.
St. Dich, who fathered 10 children, took an active part in Church activities and generously offered material support and health care to priests and seminarians. He also hid missionaries and seminarians in his home.
St. My, who married one of Anthony’s daughters and had eight children, obeyed Bishop Joseph Havard of the Diocese of Tay Dang Ngoai to serve as village head and protect local Catholics during the persecution. He was a much-loved and highly respected leader.
The two martyrs and a priest were arrested on 11 May 1838. They were tortured for months until they were executed on August 12 that year.
They were beatified on 17 May 1900, and canonised on 19 June 1988.
