Saint Vincent Nguyễn Mạnh Tương

Vincent Nguyễn Mạnh Tương was born in 1814 in the hamlet of Phú Yên, Ngọc Cục village, Nam Định province. His father had been head of the parish council, the man who led the parish in its shared affairs. So he grew up in a family used to carrying burdens for others and looking after people.

He married, and was later chosen as canton chief, in charge of a canton made up of several villages. People respected him for his upright, exemplary life. His older brother was Andrew Nguyễn Mạnh Tường, also a devout layman of Ngọc Cục.

A canton chief stood between two sides, the villagers below and the mandarins above. He took orders from above and passed them down, and had to care for the people while keeping the mandarins satisfied. The post called for tact and strength of character.

In 1861 Emperor Tự Đức’s edict of dispersal came down. The canton chief and a number of Catholics were summoned and ordered to trample on the cross and give up their religion.

Tương probably understood the cost better than anyone. As an official, his defiance would stand out far more than an ordinary man’s. But because he was the leader, he also knew the whole canton was watching. If he stepped on the cross, how many would follow?

He did not step on it.

On September 14, 1861, he was arrested together with his older brother Andrew Tường and three fellow villagers: Dominic Nguyễn Đức Mạo, Dominic Nguyễn Huy Nguyên and Dominic Nguyễn Đức Nhi.

They were beaten, put in the cangue and sent away to the village of Bạch Cốc. Beatings, torture, hunger, thirst and chains: he bore it all.

The five men had different trades. One made medicines, one looked after the parish, one kept order in the village. But in prison they were simply five brothers in the faith, praying together and saying the Rosary together.

Two of the five were brothers by blood. Think of Tương lying each night beside his older brother in the dark. They had grown up together in their father’s house, learning their prayers from their parents. Now they walked together to the end of the road.

On June 15, 1862, the mandarin questioned him one last time. Tương still would not give in.

On June 16, 1862, under Emperor Tự Đức, Vincent Tương was beheaded at the Bạch Cốc execution ground, together with his older brother and three friends.

He was beatified on April 29, 1951, and canonized on June 19, 1988. His own feast day is June 16.

We often remember martyrs for their bold words. Tương left none. He left only a deed: he did not step on the cross.

Sometimes a leader does not need stirring words. He needs to stand his ground, so that those behind him know they can stand theirs. The canton chief of Ngọc Cục did exactly that.

(Vincent Nguyễn Mạnh Tương should not be confused with his older brother, Andrew Nguyễn Mạnh Tường. The two had almost the same name and died on the same day, but each had his own life.)