November 24
Saints of the Day...and Events
 

Martyrs of Vietnam, Martyrs of Tonkin; Martyrs of Annam; Martyrs of IndoChina
Over 100,00 martyrs, many of them laymen, 117 canonized by John Paul II

    Between the arrival of the first Portuguese missionary in 1533, through the Dominicans and then the Jesuit missions of the 17th century, the politically inspired persecutions of the 19th century, and the Communist-led terrors of the twentieth, there have been many thousands of Catholics and other Christians murdered for their faith in Vietnam. Some were priests, some nuns or brothers, some lay people; some were foreign missionaries, but most were native Vietnamese killed by their own government and people.

    It is now reported that the “Great Massacre,” the name given to the persecution of the Church in Vietnam, resulted in the following estimated deaths:

    Notice the large number of laymen!

    During the six decades after 1820, between 100,000 and 300,000 Catholics were killed or subjected to great hardship. Foreign missionaries martyred in the first wave included priests of the Parish Mission Society, and Spanish Dominican priests and tertiaries.

    Eastern Vietnam - fifteen priests, 60 catechists, 250 nuns, 24,000 Catholic lay men and women.
    Southern Vietnam - ten priests, 8,585 Catholic men and women.
    Southern Tonkin region - eight French missionaries, one native priest, 63 catechists, and 400 more Christians slain - in all, an estimated 4,799 were martyred and 1,181 died of starvation. Some 10,000 Catholics were forced to flee the area.
    Pope John Paul II canonized 117 Martyrs of Vietnam on June 19,1988.

    By 1954 there were over a million and a half Catholics—about seven percent of the population—in the north. Buddhists represented about 60 percent. Persistent persecution forced some 670,000 Catholics to abandon lands, homes and possessions and flee to the south. In 1964, there were still 833,000 Catholics in the north, but many were in prison. In the south, Catholics were enjoying the first decade of religious freedom in centuries, their numbers swelled by refugees.

    During the Vietnamese war, Catholics again suffered in the north, and again moved to the south in great numbers. Now the country is under Communist rule.

Quote: “The Church in Vietnam is alive and vigorous, blessed with strong and faithful bishops, dedicated religious, and courageous and committed lay-people.... The Church in Vietnam is living out the gospel in a difficult and complex situation with remarkable persistence and strength” (statement of three U.S. archbishops returning from Vietnam).
Died martyred in various ways and in various locations in Vietnam
Canonized 19 June 1988 by Pope John Paul II
Additional Information
http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/SaintOfDay/default.asp?id=1209 ,    Kirken i Norge, Catholic Online, Daily Catholic

    The following is a list of those whose stories we know, and links to those I have profiled to date.

Events of November 24 - Saints of November 24:

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