Saint Delgado Y ,Bishop, OP

Saint Ignatius DELGADO Y

Dominican Bishop

(1762-1838)

 

* Soldier of Evangelization.

 

With close to half a century of dedicated evangelizing mission in Vietnam and 43 years as a bishop, Saint Ignatius Y’s life was closely attached to the east vicariate of Tonkin, which encompassed the five current dioceses: Hải Phòng, Bùi Chu, Bắc Ninh, Lạng Sơn and Thái Bình. His works were spread over three royal reigns: from the Cảnh Thịnh’s reign with the early organizing struggles which helped him assess the needs of the new land, from which he planned and grew the east vicariate during King Gia Long’s reign to the point that the vicariate was strong enough to withstand the furious persecution under King Minh Mạng; and that was the season of bountiful harvest of “martyrs” in the vicariate. The growth in the number of native priests, religious, and converts annually was the strongest evidence of his dedication and leadership.

 

* The Mystery of God’s Will.

 

Ignatius Delgado Y was born on 11/23/1762 in the village of Vallafeliche, Saragozza province in the region of Aragon, Spain. At a young age, the sisters of Cistercian Religious Order heavily influenced Delgado. A bookworm, he diligently read the accounts of the sisters; moreover, his village, from hilltops through the woods to the valleys, was strewn with the footprints of these religious sisters in white habits, Saint Bernard’s daughters. As a result he bore the desire to offer his life to God in a monastery.

 

Nevertheless, God had a different plan. One day, a friend asked Delgado to join the Dominican Religious Order, he accepted. Then the two visited the monastery of St. Peter the Martyr of the Dominican Province of Aragon in Catalayud. He entered the novitiate at 18 and professed his solemn vows in 1781. While attending the major seminary in Orihuela, Delgado learned of the order’s mission in the Far East. In a letter dated 6/25/1780, the vicar Alonzo Phê in Vietnam detailed the works as well as the number of Christians, and requested more missionaries of “virtues, intelligence and courage.” Delgado’s heart was boiled with the desire for missionary work. In 1785, after discussing with the superiors, Delgado transferred to the Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Province and was sent to Manila, The Philippines, to continue his studies.

 

* The Young Bishop.

 

In 1787, Deacon Delgado was ordained a priest. The following year, among the 15 religious volunteered for Vietnam, the provincial selected Delgado and another religious. However, Vietnam was plunged into a civil war delaying the two missionaries in Macao and Malacca until 1790 when he arrived in the missionary land together with three other priests, one of whom was Fr. Henares Minh. Although fresh in Vietnam, all had heard of his talents and virtues when he was still in Manila and had special affection for him. After several months of learning Vietnamese, he was assigned to work at the seminary for two years, and then appointed vicar of the vicariate as well as the coordinator of Dominican priests for the next two years. His talents and virtues were recognized when Bishop Alonzo Phê nominated him to the Holy See to be the coadjutor bishop with the rights of succession. Pope Pius VI had officially approved in the pontifical letter of 2/11/1794, but his consecration was performed until September the following year in the joy of the entire diocese. The new bishop was only 33 years old.

 

Historians recognized that Bishop Ignatius Delgado Y had fit in with the missionary land since the beginning, from the climate, language, customs, to native delicacies. Four years of supervising the seminary and vicar’s duties added to his comprehension of the needs and progress of the diocese. Now in his new capacity, he became an effective and able collaborator to Bishop Alonzo Phê in diocesan administration and evangelization. In August 1798, when King Cảnh Thịnh issued the decree of persecution to destroy all the churches, to arrest all missionaries, priest as well as catechists, and to force Christians to renounce their faith Bishop Delgado Y quickly responded to the royal decree with a pastoral letter instructing clerics to put in safekeeping all sacramental materials, and to advise them, if necessary, to hide in the vicinity so that they could continue to meet their parishioners. He especially put his trust in the heavenly power in asking the faithful to fast on Wednesdays and recited the Litany of Saints daily to ask for peace.

 

In a report sent to the mother province, the bishop wrote: “... priests had to hide in trenches, in the woods or in the isolated fields, but still disguised themselves to visit the flock.” Even so the two bishops still paid pastoral visits to parishes in the diocese. Bishop Alonzo Phê, while visiting the Kim Bắc (Bắc Ninh) area, came down with malaria and passed away in Lai Ổn on 2/2/1799; the entire diocesan burden now fell on Bishop Delgado Y. In the funeral homily, Bishop Delgado Y remembered the example and the words his predecessor used to pray: “God, please put a fire under me, cut me up; don’t leave in this world so that I would be forgiven forever.” Bishop Delgado Y had carried on those tradition and example, forever accepting travails and sufferings to serve God among the people.

 

* Wisdom and Courage.

 

The task most closed to the bishop’s heart was visiting all his parishes no matter how far and perilous. Beginning in early 1803, this responsibility was shared the new Assistant Bishop Henares Minh (consecrated on 1/9/1803). At the time, the roads in the North were not as passable as they are now, the two bishops had to traveled thousands of kilometers of trails, river banks, through forests, over mountains... even so, not a single mission was not visited many times. At each parish, they gave practical instructions, corrected abuses, forbid heresies and rubbed out the practice of usury.

 

The period under King Gia Long’s reign through King Minh Mạng’s early days was the most peaceful relatively speaking, even though there were still some isolated harassments. Bishop Delgado Y had taken advantage of this opportunity to solidify the diocese; he concentrated on training native priests, rebuilt seminaries, especially in Ninh Cường, Lục Thuỷ, Tiên Chu and Ngọc Đồng. In only 10 years the number of priests doubled (in 1810 there were 54 European and Vietnamese priests). As a member of the Dominican community, the bishop received the most active support from the mother province; however, his main objective was to train diocesan priests who then could join the Dominican community if they so chose. Besides the 16 original Vietnamese Dominican priests, there were an additional 66 Vietnamese priests affiliated with the Dominican Order during Bishop Delgado Y’s to assist missionary works and sacramental services alongside diocesan priests.

 

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admin30-06-06, 11:48 AM

During the 20 peaceful years, Christians were at liberty to attend daily masses and prayers, so they had ample opportunities to learn catechism and to lead better Christian lives. Many parishes celebrated public and solemn masses, attracting many pagans who came to explore Christianity and in turn abandoned many of their biases against the faith. For example, previously they criticized those who believed in Christianity as persons who abandoned their parents and ancestors until they saw that Catholics also had solemn rites for burying the dead as well as meaningful memorial masses for the deceased ancestors. As a result the number of converts increased significantly. In only 10 years, over 10,000 adults were baptized; the number of 114.000 Catholics at the time of Bishop Delgado Y’s consecration increased to 160.000 in 1815, living in 800 parishes[1] (www.gpnt.net/diendan/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=14#...).

 

Cognizant of the responsibility for those who went before him, the bishop commissioned a group of men to help him investigate the lives and works of the two priests, Castaneda Gia and Vinhsơn Liêm, who were martyred in Hà Nội in 1773. In 1818, the bishop completed the examination and sent the beatification request including all the collected facts and documents to Rome.

 

At the beginning of King Minh Mạng’s reign, epidemics wrecked havoc everywhere; in some cities thousands of persons were infected and died; the economy deteriorated; everyone became fearful, pagans as well as Christians swarmed into churches to beg for the holy water; even the king dared not leave the royal palace... Against this hopeless background, Bishop Delgado Y urged missionaries and Christians to demonstrate charity in caring for the sick and providing for the destitute, etc. This compassionate call for help endeared him more to the people.

 

Brewing Storms.

 

Edicts of persecution of 1825 and 1833 were not implemented meticulously in the east vicariate of Tonkin; the mandarins were sympathetic to Christianity, moreover they leaned toward Lê’s more than the Nguyễn’s, so procedural reports they sent to the king were only perfunctory. Suddenly on 4/17/1838, Mr. Vũ Văn Lân, a catechist working with Fr. Viên went to the chancery to collect schism, bringing with him 6 letters (to the two bishops, two European missionaries, and two Vietnamese priests); he was discovered and arrested. Governor Trịnh Quang Khanh gleefully sent the letters to the king. The mandarin of Hưng Yên was immediately removed; Governor Trịnh Quang Khanh was called back to the royal capital for censure. General Lê Văn Đức and 2000 soldiers were dispatched to Nam Định to help with the persecution of Christians; a storm was brewing in Nam Định. Spies were inserted everywhere. The seminaries of Ninh Cường and Lục Thuỷ as well as community houses were dismantled by the religious themselves to avoid scrutiny. Seminarians were scattered; sisters were sent home, and lay Christians had to find hiding places. The two bishops had to take refuge in the village of Kiên Lao.

 

* The Way of the Cross.

 

Kiên Lao was a large village where Christians alone amounted to 5000 persons. Parish elders arranged for the two bishops and two European missionaries to stay in four different homes. The home, where Bishop Ignatius Delgado Y was hiding in, was close to the home of a teacher, Mr. Hy, where he also held classes. The elders came and asked the teacher to temporarily relocated his classes. Suspicious by this strange request, he grilled the students who told him of Europeans hiding in town; he then went to the authorities with the information. On 5/27/1838 about 200 soldiers surrounded Kiên Lao under the command of Mandarin Lê Văn Thể. Soldiers searched casually and left. The missionaries thought that it was safe to resume normal activities. Unfortunately, soldiers returned the following morning to the homes where the missionaries were staying.

 

Fr. Jimeno Lâm and Fr. Hermosilla Vọng quickly mixed in with the crowd and escaped. Bishop Henares Minh was sneaked to another house (he would be captured a week later). Bishop Delgado Y, at 76 years old, being carried away in a hammock by Christian men, was discovered by soldiers and arrested. They bound the bishop, left him in the hammock, and carried him back to the village temple as they yelled and hollered with joy that they forgot to look for the rest of the missionaries.

 

The mandarin asked the bishop: “Where did you come from?” The bishop replied: “I’ve just arrived in this village. The people here have no relationship with me.” The mandarin continued: “You are arrested, you can commit suicide like other brave men.” The bishop answered: “We are not allowed to commit suicide which is a cardinal sin. But if you condemn me to death for my faith, then I am very happy.”

 

In the afternoon, the bishop was taken to Xuân Trường prefecture. That night, Mandarin Lê Văn Thể ordered the bishop confined in a wooden cage which was made of tree branches so tightly pegged together that a hand could not go through. There was a small trap door on top where food could be delivered to the prisoner. The cage was so small that the prisoner could not stand up, and it would be his home until his death.

 

When Governor Trịnh Quang Khanh was informed, he immediately sent 100 soldiers to escort the prisoner to Nam Định at 11:00 AM on May 30. All the province mandarins together with 2000 soldiers were waiting for the “bid prey” which were just captured. Banners were fluttering, drums were rolling, and gong sounds were reverberating... with all the pageantry, the authorities had inadvertently received the hero of faith in the reception ceremony reserved for a king. Meanwhile the bishop knelt and prayed in the cage, clutching in his hand a small prayer book that he had with him since his capture.

 

Miseries that the bishop had to suffer during his 43 days in the cage were indescribable, food deprivation, interrogations, and being spit at. After interrogation, as soldiers were drenched with sweat in the hot sun or frozen in the cold night dew, the bishop never revealed a name nor any location besides his personal information.

 

Occasionally the bishop told the mandarin and soldiers: “You do not understand Christ’s religion, if you do, you will convert.”

 

On June 14, Governor Trịnh Quang Khanh sent the death sentence petition the royal court, but King Minh Mạng did not approve because he still wanted the missionary to admit to being a “spy”. Of course, the bishop would not agree with the allegation. One day, he told the mandarin: “I have been in Tonkin for 48 years, I have papers from the former king (Gia Long) permitting me to preach. Just take me to the royal court; if the king wants to broil my flesh, I let him... you should not prolong this trial and inconvenienced the guards.”

 

* To Glory.

 

The sentence from the second trial was sent to the royal city and was approved by the king, however, the respectable bishop died before the signed sentence arrived in Nam Định. With the old age of 76 plus his failing health due to illness, a month and a half in the cage drained his strength and he rested in peace on 7/12/1838 after 43 years of ministering as a bishop. Soldiers tied a piece of oil-soaked cloth to his toe and burned it to see if he was really dead, then they informed the governor. Nevertheless the governor decided: “Just carry out the sentence to let people know how serious his offense is.”

 

Soldiers carried the bishop’s cage to the execution site in Bảy Mẫu, took his body out, and then severed his head under the witness of the mandarins and several Christians. The martyr’s body was carried away and buried by Christians at a church destroyed previously in Bùi Chu. The bishop’s head was displayed in public for three days, and then thrown in Vị Hoàng River. Three months later, his head was recovered by a fisherman, brought back and buried together with his body.

 

On 5/27/1900 Pope Leo elevated the bishop of the Order of Preachers, Ignatius Delgado to the rank of blessed

Done