Andrea Phu Yen, Vietnamese catechists, and Leo XIV

The Vietnamese Catholic Church celebrated the 400th anniversary of the birth of its first martyr, who was killed at the age of 19, with a live-streamed event involving communities across the country and the diaspora, which was also attended by the Pope.

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - While Rome is beginning to welcome hundreds of thousands of young people for their Jubilee event, which will culminate in a vigil and Mass at Tor Vergata on Saturday, August 2, and Sunday, August 3, an interesting prologue has taken place in recent days, featuring the Vietnamese Church and Pope Leo XIV.

On Friday, July 25, the pontiff participated in an online event together with several hundred young catechists from the country and Catholic communities in the diaspora to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the birth of Andrea Phu Yen, considered the first martyr of Vietnam, beatified by John Paul II during the Jubilee of 2000.

Twenty-five years after that event, the relics of this very important figure in the history and devotion of this great Church in Asia arrived in the Vatican, in the Chapel of the Annunciation in Palazzo Pio, the headquarters of the Vatican media.

From here, the Vietnamese editorial staff of Vatican News coordinated a two-hour live stream in which, after retracing the life of this saint through manga-style images, participants were able to listen to the words of the Archbishop of Ho Chi Minh City, Msgr. Joseph Nguyễn Năng, president of the Vietnamese Bishops' Conference, and of Pope Leo XIV himself.

St. Andrew Phu Yen was a catechist killed in hatred of the faith in 1644, when he was only 19 years old. For this reason, Pope Francis included him among the young saints from every continent, held up as models for their peers in the apostolic exhortation Christus Vivit, published in 2019 after the Synod on Young People.

Andrew Phu Yen was baptized at the age of 15 by Father Alexandre de Rhodes, the great Jesuit missionary, author of the first Vietnamese catechism and the first Portuguese-Latin-Vietnamese dictionary, thanks to which the country adopted the Latin alphabet that it still uses today.

Brought before the authorities of Quang Nam province for his missionary activity, faced with those who tried in various ways to convince him to “abandon his crazy conviction,” he replied that he was a Christian and more willing to suffer than to abandon his faith.

He asked God to grant him the grace to be faithful until the end and to “respond with the fullness of love to the infinite love of his Lord, who gave his life for mankind.” When he was killed on July 26, he died shouting the name of Jesus at the top of his voice.

The Pope wanted to bring this testimony to life by addressing the 64,000 catechists—most of them young people—who animate parish life in Vietnam and in Vietnamese communities around the world.

“By giving his life at the age of only 19, Andrea responded to Christ's call to return ‘love for love’ to Our Lord,” said Pope Leo XIV during the live stream. Today, we ask the patron saint of catechists to intercede for us, so that, like him, we may invoke the name of Jesus with unshakeable faith, even when we find ourselves in difficulty."

Expressing his gratitude to the Vietnamese catechists, Leo XIV emphasized one aspect of this service in particular: “It is said that while he was in prison, Andrew encouraged his fellow Christians to remain steadfast in their faith and asked them to pray that he might remain faithful until the end.”

This attitude shows that the service of the catechist is "never a solitary endeavor: we teach and our community prays; we bear witness and the Body of Christ sustains us in our trials. This unity of prayer and service,“ commented the Pope, ”emphasizes the unity of the Church and the peace that Christ gives us.“

Prevost also noted how the ministry of the catechist is ”deeply rooted in a solid family and cultural heritage. Keep alive your love for your family and your homeland," he told the Vietnamese. These treasures of culture and faith have been handed down to you, especially the heroic faith of your parents and grandparents, who, like Blessed Andrew, bore witness in suffering and taught you to trust in God. Your roots and traditions are gifts from God; may they fill you with confidence and joy as you share your faith with others."

Leo XIV finally invited young Vietnamese to be “united in spirit” with the young pilgrims arriving in Rome for the Jubilee. “Share with them and with all your brothers and sisters in Vietnam the joyful confidence that Christ lives and wants you to live.”