Saint Joseph Marchand (Du)

Joseph Marchand was born in 1803 near Besançon, France, into a poor family. On April 4, 1829, he was ordained a priest. That very day he wrote to his family:

“Dear father and mother, I no longer hope to see my family again on this earth, for I have set out on the road of mission.”

A letter of farewell, written on the happiest day of his life. He knew full well where the road he had chosen would lead him.

In 1830 he arrived in Cochinchina, learned Vietnamese and took the name Du. He served the faithful in Phnom Penh, then looked after the seminarians at Lái Thiêu and many Catholic communities.

In 1833 Emperor Minh Mạng’s ban on the faith came down. The other missionaries had to take refuge elsewhere. Father Du stayed in the Six Provinces of the South, continuing to visit the communities.

Also in 1833, Lê Văn Khôi rose up and seized the citadel of Gia Định against the court. The rebels wanted to draw the Catholics to their side. They first invited Father Du into the citadel, then forced him to come.

They brought him letters, wanting him to sign them calling on the faithful to join the fighting. He burned those letters. He said:

“I know only the work of religion; the trade of war I know nothing about.”

He did not want the faithful to be drawn into a war that was not theirs.

In 1835 the citadel of Gia Định fell. Father Du was captured. The court charged him with two crimes: being a priest, and helping the rebels.

They shut him in a small cage and took him to Huế. He was interrogated many times. He denied commanding troops or organizing the uprising. He said he had only preached the faith, prayed and celebrated Mass.

But no one believed him. Or no one wanted to.

On November 30, 1835, Father Joseph Marchand (Du) was put to death by the “hundred cuts”, one of the cruelest punishments of that time. His remains were thrown into the sea. He was thirty-two.

He was beatified on May 27, 1900, and canonized on June 19, 1988. His own feast day is November 30.

Father Du lived in a very difficult situation: on one side the rebels coercing him, on the other the court suspecting him. He took no side but God’s. And for that very reason, both sides saw him as an enemy.

History holds accusations that were never proven. The Church recognizes him as a martyr: a man who died for the faith, not for politics.

When we are misunderstood, caught in the middle of conflicts that are not ours, Father Du reminds us to hold on to what is essential: I know only the work of religion. As for the rest, let God judge.