Vicente Liem de la Paz

Vicente Liêm of Peace (Spanish: Vicente Liêm de la Paz) (Vietnamese: Vinh Sơn Hòa Bình) or Vinh Sơn Phạm Hiếu Liêm (1732 – November 7, 1773) was a Tonkinese (present day northern Vietnam) Dominican friar venerated as a saint and martyr by the Catholic Church along with other Vietnamese Martyrs in 1988.

In this Vietnamese name, the surname is Phạm. In accordance with Vietnamese custom, this person should be referred to by the given name, Liêm.
Saint

Vincent Liêm of Peace

O.P.
Born1732
Trà Lũ, Nam Định, Tonkin
Died(1773-11-07)7 November 1773
Đồng Mơ, Đông Kinh, Tonkin
Venerated inCatholic Church
Beatified20 May 1906, Vatican City by Pope Pius X
Canonized19 June 1988, Vatican City by Pope John Paul II
Major shrineChurch of the Holy Rosary, Trung Linh, Vietnam
Feast7 November (separate), 24 November (General Roman Calendar)
Attributesbook, palm, hood, rosary, academic birreta, dalmatic
PatronageTonkin, Colegio de San Juan de Letran, Students of Letran
Vicente Liem de la Paz as a Letran student.

He was born at Trà Lũ village, in the phủ of Thiên Trường, Nam Định Province, Tonkin in 1732 to Christian parents, Antôn and Maria Doãn,[1] members of the Tonkinese nobility. When he fell gravely ill several days after his birth, he was baptized by Fr. Chien de Santo Tomas, taking the name of Vincent. He was later brought by his parents to a missionary center where he learned catechism. In 1738, King Philip V of Spain opened the Colegio de San Juan de Letran and the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in the Philippines to Chinese and Tonkinese students through a scholarship program. The Vicariate Apostolic of Eastern Tonkin, ran by Dominican friars at the time, decided to let Liêm and four other Tonkinese (Jose de Santo Tomas, Juan de Santo Domingo, Pedro Martir and Pedro de San Jacinto) study in the Philippines under this scholarship.

Vicente took the trivium and the quadrivium in Colegio de San Juan de Letran, now the equivalent of elementary and secondary education. He finished a degree of lector of humanities at Letran. He continued his collegiate education at the University of Santo Tomas while residing at Letran. In September 1753, after completing his studies at Letran, he entered the Dominican order, along with his three Tonkinese companions. A year later, they made their solemn professions. On January 28, 1755, he received the tonsure and minor orders at the Church of Sta. Ana. In 1758 Liêm was ordained priest under the Dominican order. On September of that year, he passed the examinations to hear confessions. On October 3, he started his journey back to his homeland and arrived on January 20, 1759.

Upon arriving in his homeland, he was appointed professor in Trung Linh seminary. On October 2, 1773, he and his two assistants were arrested at "Co Dou". He and his assistants were beaten up, after which they traveled on foot to the village of recorded as "Dou Hoi." There he met another Dominican priest, the Spaniard Jacinto Castañeda.[2] They were presented to the Vice Governor and to the Royal Minister. They were thrown to a cage for a night. The arrival of a High Minister prompted their transfer to Kien Nam, where the King held his court. While under detention, they still managed to preach Catholicism to the people. Later they were taken to Tan Cau, then to the house of Canh Thuy. Finally they were brought to the King where they were tried. Their trial led for the King to be angry and they were thrown to jail. After several days, the King brought down the guilty verdict with the penalty of beheading. The execution occurred on November 7, 1773. After the execution, the Christians who were present at the site carried away the bodies of de la Paz and Castañeda, where they were laid to rest at the town of Trung Linh in Xuan Truong, Nam Định. Several more Christian missionaries were put to death by the Tonkinese authorities.

The process of beatification of de la Paz and Casteñeda, as well as other Dominican martyrs, was initiated through Vicar Apostolic Bishop Ignacio Delgado. They were beatified by Pope Pius X with his feast day on November 6. Pope John Paul II canonization the Dominican martyrs along with a total of 117 martyrs in total on June 19, 1988, with the feast day of the group on November 24.

See also

References
  1. "Tiểu sử Thánh Vinh Sơn Liêm". Trung Tâm Thánh Vinh Sơn Liêm. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  2. Butler's Lives of the Saints: February - Alban Butler, Paul Burns - 1998 Page 23- "In 1773 two more Dominicans, Jacinto Castaneda and Vincent Liem, lost their lives. Castaneda, a Spaniard, had served for several years as a missionary in the Philippines and in China before being deported to Vietnam, where he spent three ..."
  • Attwater, Donald and Catherine Rachel John. The Penguin Dictionary of Saints. 3rd edition. New York: Penguin Books, 1993. ISBN 0-14-051312-4.
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