Martyr 89 of 117 · Priest
Saint Dominic Đinh Đức Mậu
The old priest who prayed the Rosary in the prison of Hưng Yên
1794 – 1858 · Feast day November 5
Priest, from Phú Nhai, Xuân Trường prefecture, Nam Định province · Vietnamese
With a cangue around his neck and his body covered in welts, Father Mậu still prayed the Rosary every day, and not alone. He drew the frightened, weary Catholics arrested with him into that circle of prayer, and the prison became a small chapel.
Three reigns, one faithful priest
Dominic Đinh Đức Mậu was born in 1794 in the village of Phú Nhai, Xuân Trường prefecture, Nam Định province. As a boy he wanted to give his life to God. He studied at the seminary and was ordained a priest in 1829, the same year he joined the Dominican Order.
He served at Trung Linh, Phú Nhai and Kiên Lao. His priesthood spanned three reigns: Minh Mạng, Thiệu Trị and Tự Đức. At times the persecution raged, at times it eased, but a priest was never really safe.
For nearly thirty years he kept going from parish to parish, saying Mass, hearing confessions, baptizing, visiting the sick. No fuss, no fame, only steady faithfulness year after year.
Kẻ Diền, August 1858
On August 27, 1858, he was arrested in the village of Kẻ Diền, Thái Bình, along with many other Catholics. He was sixty-four.
The whole group was taken to Hưng Yên. For more than two months he wore the cangue and chains and was tortured many times.
A circle of the Rosary
In prison he went on doing what he had done all his life: praying and holding others up. He prayed the Rosary and encouraged the Catholics imprisoned with him to endure for the name of Jesus.
Picture it: a group of people in chains in a dark prison, whispering Hail Mary after Hail Mary, the old priest leading and the others answering. Perhaps no church is more beautiful than that.
For a priest who had served so many communities, staying close to those who shared his prison was simply more of the same ministry. He was still a shepherd, even if his flock was now a few people in one cell.
On the bank of the Red River
On November 5, 1858, Father Dominic Mậu was beheaded on the bank of the Red River, in the town of Hưng Yên. He was buried at the parish church of Mai Linh, Nam Định.
He was beatified on April 29, 1951, and canonized on June 19, 1988. His own feast day is November 5.
Running to the finish
There is a verse of Scripture that could have been written for people like Father Mậu:
“I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.” (2 Tim 4:7)
There are no dramatic stories about him, no stirring exchanges on record. Only nearly thirty years as a priest, more than two months in prison, and a Rosary that never left his hands.
That is a road any of us can walk. It need not be grand, only steady and faithful, drawing others into prayer along the way.
Biography on the website of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Vietnam ↗