St. Andrew Dũng-Lạc (1795-1839)
Feast Day - November 24th
Despite very slow beginnings in 1533 the Church in Vietnam grew to several hundred thousand souls by the 1800. But the increase was nourished by the blood of the martyrs, approximately 130,000 from the 17th to 19th century. The 117 of them who have been canonized share a feast. The Roman Martyrology honors them as "men and women, of every condition and age, who all preferred to suffer exile, imprisonment, torture, and eventually death rather than to tread upon the Cross of Christ and renounce their Christian faith." Andrew Dũng-Lạc who represents the group, was born to poor pagan parents but sought baptism in his teens through the help of a catechist. After learning Chinese and Latin he became a catechist himself and, in 1823, a priest. He was a tireless preacher who set a good example for his people and converted many to Christ. Twice captured by persecutors and later ransomed, he finally was tortured and beheaded with his fellow priest, St. Peter Thi.
DonorThe Vietnamese Community of the Diocese of Raleigh † In memory of |
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