1803 - 1838

In 1838, the pagan governor of Vietnam’s Nam Dinh province summoned five hundred soldiers to a banquet to pressure them into trampling upon a cross in renunciation of Christianity. Most of the guests complied, but three Catholic soldiers refused, one of whom was Domingo Nicolas Dat Dinh, from Phu Nhai. The three soldiers were tortured, but to no avail. The governor then rounded up the soldiers’ families and threatened to torture them if the three continued to refuse his order. Frightened for their parents, wives, and children, the soldiers yielded, agreeing to trample upon a cross. But soon repenting, they confessed their sin to a priest and returned to the governor to re-affirm their faith. He simply sent them away. Two of the soldiers (Saints Augustin Huy Viet Phan and Nicolas The) then went to the emperor Minh Mang to deliver a declaration of their faith. Both were executed. Domingo had concurred in his companions’ declaration, but had been unable to accompany them. When soon afterward he was captured, he said, “I have already suffered so much for Christ that I will not lose my reward for it.” He was executed on July 18, 1838.