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Théophane or Jean-Théophane Vénard, born (1829-11-21)November 21, 1829 at Saint-Loup-sur-Thouet and martyred (1861-02-02)February 2, 1861 in Hanoi, was a priest of the Paris Foreign Missions Society. Missionary to Tonkin, he was condemned to death and executed. He was then declared blessed, and later canonized, by the Catholic Church.
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Théophane Vénard | |
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Saint and Martyr of Vietnam | |
Born | (1829-11-21)November 21, 1829 Saint-Loup-sur-Thouet, Diocese of Poitiers, France |
Died | February 2, 1861(1861-02-02) (aged 31) Tonkin, Vietnam |
Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
Beatified | May 2, 1909, Rome, Kingdom of Italy by Pope Pius X |
Canonized | June 19, 1988, Vatican City, Rome, Italy by John-Paul II |
Major shrine | Crypt of the Paris Foreign Missions Society |
Feast | November 24 |
After his studies, he entered the seminary and decided to become a missionary-priest under the auspices of the Paris Foreign Missions Society. Ordained a priest in 1852, he was sent to China as a missionary. After a long voyage of more than seven months, he arrived at Hong Kong, the door of entry into China. After having heard his assignment, he was finally nominated to Tonkin, the northern part of current-day Vietnam.
Entering clandestinely into Tonkin in 1854, he learned the Vietnamese language and placed himself at the service of the local bishop. The situation was very difficult for Christians and the persecutions were very intense against them. He took refuge in caves and hide-outs, protected by the Christian villagers. There he translated various epistles and was named superior of the seminary. In 1860, he was denounced by a villager and captured, then executed the following year by decapitation.
The numerous letters which he wrote all throughout his life, and notably during his missionary period, were collected and published by his brother Eusèbe after his death. They made a notable impression in France. Thérèse de Lisieux who is considered a saint which resembled him, affirmed upon reading his letters, "These are my thoughts, my soul looks like his soul," meanwhile contributing to make him, for Catholics, one of the most renowned martyrs of the 19th century. Numerous similarities exist between the spiritualities of Théophane Vénard and that of Thérèse de Lisieux, as much in the search for spiritual smallness as in the grand vision for mission.
The process of Théophane Vénard's beatification was opened shortly after his death. He was beatified in 1909, then canonized in 1988 by Pope John Paul II.