Saint Andrew Dũng-Lạc was a Vietnamese diocesan priest, born around 1795 to a poor non-Christian family, who became a tireless pastor and catechist and was beheaded for the faith in Hanoi in 1839. He is honored together with 116 companion martyrs of Vietnam — bishops, priests, catechists, and lay faithful, Vietnamese and missionary — who died for Christ between the 17th and 19th centuries. They were canonized together by Pope John Paul II in 1988.
The Martyrs of Vietnam held fast to Jesus through persecution, prison, and death, showing that faith planted in suffering bears fruit for generations. Their courage reminds us that love for Christ is stronger than any loss, and that the faith of a family can endure through everything.
Saint Andrew Dũng-Lạc and all the Martyrs of Vietnam, pray for us, that we may hold fast to Christ in every trial and be gathered one day with those we love into His peace. Amen.