In the village of Phú Yên in Annam, Blessed Andrew, martyr, who, a catechist, while the persecution against Christian doctrine was raging, was impiously seized by soldiers and shed his blood for Christ, the firstfruits of the Church of that land.
Beatified: 5 March 2000 by Pope John Paul II
Memoria liturgica: 26 July
“Let us give love to our God for love; let us live for life.”
Andrew of Phú Yên
Andrew of Phú Yên was born in Vietnam in 1626, in the province of Phú Yên. Educated by his mother, he received Baptism at the age of fifteen. From the day he was baptized, at sixteen years of age, he lived as a faithful witness of the Risen Christ and tirelessly proclaimed the Gospel to his brethren through the catechist association known as the “House of God.”
For love of the Lord, he devoted all his strength to the service of the Church, assisting priests in their mission. He persevered to the gift of blood, remaining faithful to the love of Him to whom he had given himself completely.
The words he repeated as he resolutely advanced along the path of martyrdom are the expression of what animated his entire existence: “Let us give love to our God for love; let us live for life.”
He was condemned to death and killed on 26 July 1644 for his refusal to abjure Catholicism.