St. Andrew Dung-Lac and Companions
Feast Day: November 24
Imagine being a priest who has to change his name just to keep doing his job.
Not because you did anything wrong.
But because saying Mass could get you killed.
That was life for Andrew Dung-Lac.
And he was not alone.
Over about 120 years, thousands of Catholics in Vietnam gave their lives rather than deny Christ.
On November 24, the Church honors 117 of them by name.
St. Andrew Dung-Lac and Companions, pray for us.
The Faith Comes to Vietnam
Catholic missionaries began preaching in Vietnam in the 1500s and 1600s.
The faith spread quickly.
But rulers often saw Christianity as a foreign threat.
From the 1600s through the 1800s, waves of persecution swept the country.
Churches were destroyed.
Priests were hunted.
Christians were forced to step on a crucifix to prove they had given up the faith.
Many refused.
Who Was Andrew Dung-Lac?
Andrew Dung-Lac was born around 1795 in northern Vietnam to a poor, non-Christian family.
As a boy he was taken in by a catechist and learned the faith.
He was baptized, studied, and became a catechist himself.
In 1823 he was ordained a priest.
He served his people as a parish priest, preaching, teaching, and celebrating the sacraments.
Hunted for Being a Priest
During the persecution under Emperor Minh Mang, Father Andrew was arrested more than once.
Each time, his parishioners raised money to pay for his release.
To avoid capture, he changed his name to Lac, which is why he is remembered as Andrew Dung-Lac.
He moved from place to place to keep caring for his flock.
In 1839 he was arrested again, along with another priest, St. Peter Thi.
This time there was no release.
They were beheaded on December 21, 1839.
The Companions
The 117 martyrs canonized together include:
96 Vietnamese Catholics.
11 Spanish missionaries, mostly Dominicans.
10 French missionaries from the Paris Foreign Missions Society.
Among them were bishops, priests, catechists, soldiers, farmers, a tailor, a doctor, and a mother of six.
Some were beheaded.
Some were strangled.
Some died in prison.
Some were tortured for months.
“Full of Joy and Gladness”
One of the companions, a priest named St. Paul Le-Bao-Tinh, wrote a letter from prison in 1843.
He described the chains, the hunger, and the beatings.
Then he wrote:
“In the midst of these torments, which usually terrify others, I am, by the grace of God, full of joy and gladness.”
— St. Paul Le-Bao-Tinh
He was not pretending the suffering was easy.
He was saying that Christ was with him in it.
He was beheaded in 1857.
Canonized in 1988
On June 19, 1988, Pope St. John Paul II canonized the 117 Vietnamese martyrs in Rome.
They represent many thousands more whose names are known only to God.
Today the Church in Vietnam is still alive and growing, built on their faithfulness.
As Tertullian said long ago, the blood of martyrs is seed.
What These Martyrs Teach Us
These martyrs teach us that faith is worth more than safety.
They teach us that ordinary people, farmers and soldiers and mothers, can show extraordinary courage.
And they teach us that joy can exist even in suffering, when we know we belong to Christ.
Most of us will never be asked to die for the faith.
But we are asked every day to live it.
When Is the Feast of St. Andrew Dung-Lac and Companions?
The Catholic Church celebrates the Memorial of St. Andrew Dung-Lac and Companions on November 24.
It honors the 117 Martyrs of Vietnam who died between 1745 and 1862.
Prayer Inspired by the Vietnamese Martyrs
Lord Jesus Christ,
You gave the martyrs of Vietnam courage to remain faithful,
even in prison and in the face of death.
Give us the same love for You.
Strengthen Christians who suffer for their faith today.
And help us live our faith with joy, whatever it costs.
St. Andrew Dung-Lac and Companions, pray for us. Amen.
