Santi e Beati
The skull of Saint Joseph Khang , Martyr in Vietnam .
Uder my family's custody
Saint Joseph NGUYỄN DUY KHANG
Dominican Brother
(1832-1861)
* A Loyal Disciple.
Saint Joseph Nguyễn Duy Khang was one of the four saint martyrs of Hải Dương venerated by Vietnamese Catholics. Even though he was executed a month after the other three, he was still honored together with Fr. Almato Bình and the two bishops Valentino Vinh and Hermosilla Liêm, because he had born the same travail with his three Dominican brothers.
As Bishop Hermosilla Liêm’s assistant, Brother Joseph Khang was in footstep with the leader of the east vicariate of Tonkin during their fugitive days; when soldiers arrested the bishop, with Peter’s passion in the Garden of Gethsemane, the brother tried to use force to fight. But obedient to the bishop, he agreed to be arrested to bear witness to a higher ideal: to bear witness to love, the compassion and forgiveness of the Gospel.
* A Devout Religious.
Joseph Nguyễn Duy Khang came into the world in 1832 in Cao Mại, Trà Vi canton, Vũ Tiên district, Kiến Xương prefecture, Thái Bình province. His parents were devout Catholics guiding their children in the Christian ways of life at their early ages. But his father passed away early. His mother raised him up properly. She wanted him to be educated and gave him the idea of offering his life to God, so she sent him to live with Fr. Matthew Năng, a Dominican.
After spending 10 years with the saintly elderly priest, Joseph Khang was sent to Kẻ Mốt seminary to study Latin preparing for a pastoral future. During this period, Joseph Khang asked to join the Dominican tertiary and was chosen by his fellow classmates to be their leader coordinating all the students’ responsibilities such as cleaning, cooking and liaison with the higher-ups. No matter how busy he was, he still set himself up as a model for his classmates in classes as well as in discipline. All who knew him said that he was very religious, honest, and always treated all around him with compassion and respect.
At the time, Bishop Hermosilla Liêm was also at Kẻ Mốt. He had a unique trust in Brother Khang and chose him to be his special assistant. Brother Khang happily and faithfully served the bishop: from preparing the altar, filing, copying pastoral letters, and contacting others, to preparing meals. He also dug their hiding trenches.
* A Model of Courage.
The Vietnamese Church was in a period of violent persecution under King Tự Đức. To erase completely Catholicism in the country, the king declared the edict of Segregation and Integration on 8/5/1861. According to the edict, all Catholics, young and old, male and female, were dispersed into villages of nonbelievers. Christians’ cheeks were etched with a word. Families were separated, wives from husbands, children from their parents. Churches, community houses, and Christian properties were confiscated, given away or destroyed.
Against that background, on September 18, Bishop Hermosilla Liêm agonized over the decision to close Kẻ Mốt seminary. Fr. Khoa informed seminarians on the bishop’s behalf: “You do not have to say goodbye to the bishop otherwise he cannot control his tears.” Brother Khang, on the other hand, persistently begged and was chosen to accompany the bishop till the end. When saying goodbye to his friends, he spoke half truthfully and half jokingly: “I am determined to accompany the bishop. If the authorities arrest him, they will not let me go free: if the bishop die for faith, so do I; without the head, the legs have no fear.” From that night on the two, a bishop and a religious brother, started their life on the run. Although the future was cloudy, but Brother Khang still maintained his cheerfulness due to his trust in and willingness to sacrifice his life for God.
The first three weeks on the run, Brother Khang and the bishop lived in a trench in Thọ Ninh. However, the authorities had discovered it, so the two had to leave land for a fishing sampan. Brother Khang rowed the boat to the city of Hải Dương and took refuge in the boat of a Christian named Bính. The boat became the mobile “diocesan office” of the shepherd. After several days, the two encountered by chance Bishop Valentino Vinh and Fr. Almato Bình in another boat arriving from Kẻ Mê. It was an emotional and happy encounter of the four saint martyrs of Hải Dương. They thanked God for the special occasion, exchanged news and prayed together for the Church. In the morning, they went on their separate ways.
Unfortunately, there was a quarrel in Mr. Bính family. The eldest son became angry at his parents; he went to the authorities to inform them of his parents’ giving safe housing to priests. As a result, corporal Bằng led his a group of men to arrest the bishop. Seeing them approaching, Brother Khang picked up a wooden pole, which was used to push the sampan, and ran toward them as if to warn them: to arrest anyone, you must go pass me.
But the respected and friendly bishop tapped the brother’s shoulder and said: “Don’t hurt them, leave it to God’s will.” Surprised, Brother Khang turned around still dumbfounded, suddenly he understood and could utter only a word: “Yes,” then dropped the pole and extended his hands to be tied up. Soldiers brought them to city of Hải Dương and put them in separate jail cells.
* The Martyr of Dải Dương.
For a month and a half of incarceration, Brother Khang was jailed together with a number of Christians. He organized for the cell to pray three times a day, and to do penance nightly to prepare themselves for their martyrdom. During this time, he was brought into court three times, tortured until his buttocks were flattened; each time, he endured the pain not revealing any information on the clergy nor renouncing his faith as urged by the mandarins. After each session, Christian inmates cleaned and massaged him to reduce the pain.
From prison Brother Khang continued to write to his friends who were taking refuge in the village of Hảo Hội. He wrote in a letter:
“The mandarins tortured me one time to force me to reveal bishop’s hiding places, but I did not tell them anything and was willing to be beaten. Please pray for me.”
In another letter, he wrote:
“Please send me a pair of pants because mine is old and shredded by canes beating on it. Send me also a blanket to be used to cover my body for burial when I die.”
On 12/6/1861 Brother Khang was informed of the sentence of death by decapitation from the royal capital. He happily followed soldiers to the execution field of Năm Mẫu where the ground had been soaked with the blood of his beloved bishop on November 1. After his execution, the local people buried him in a field nearby.
In 1867, under Bishop Hy’s direction, Chief Hinh, the martyr’s brother exhumed his body and reburied in the church of Kẻ Mốt parish. Today his head is stored at the church of Hải Dương while his body is still in Kẻ Mốt.
The skull of Saint Joseph Khang , Martyr in Vietnam .
Uder my family's custody
Saint Joseph NGUYỄN DUY KHANG
Dominican Brother
(1832-1861)
* A Loyal Disciple.
Saint Joseph Nguyễn Duy Khang was one of the four saint martyrs of Hải Dương venerated by Vietnamese Catholics. Even though he was executed a month after the other three, he was still honored together with Fr. Almato Bình and the two bishops Valentino Vinh and Hermosilla Liêm, because he had born the same travail with his three Dominican brothers.
As Bishop Hermosilla Liêm’s assistant, Brother Joseph Khang was in footstep with the leader of the east vicariate of Tonkin during their fugitive days; when soldiers arrested the bishop, with Peter’s passion in the Garden of Gethsemane, the brother tried to use force to fight. But obedient to the bishop, he agreed to be arrested to bear witness to a higher ideal: to bear witness to love, the compassion and forgiveness of the Gospel.
* A Devout Religious.
Joseph Nguyễn Duy Khang came into the world in 1832 in Cao Mại, Trà Vi canton, Vũ Tiên district, Kiến Xương prefecture, Thái Bình province. His parents were devout Catholics guiding their children in the Christian ways of life at their early ages. But his father passed away early. His mother raised him up properly. She wanted him to be educated and gave him the idea of offering his life to God, so she sent him to live with Fr. Matthew Năng, a Dominican.
After spending 10 years with the saintly elderly priest, Joseph Khang was sent to Kẻ Mốt seminary to study Latin preparing for a pastoral future. During this period, Joseph Khang asked to join the Dominican tertiary and was chosen by his fellow classmates to be their leader coordinating all the students’ responsibilities such as cleaning, cooking and liaison with the higher-ups. No matter how busy he was, he still set himself up as a model for his classmates in classes as well as in discipline. All who knew him said that he was very religious, honest, and always treated all around him with compassion and respect.
At the time, Bishop Hermosilla Liêm was also at Kẻ Mốt. He had a unique trust in Brother Khang and chose him to be his special assistant. Brother Khang happily and faithfully served the bishop: from preparing the altar, filing, copying pastoral letters, and contacting others, to preparing meals. He also dug their hiding trenches.
* A Model of Courage.
The Vietnamese Church was in a period of violent persecution under King Tự Đức. To erase completely Catholicism in the country, the king declared the edict of Segregation and Integration on 8/5/1861. According to the edict, all Catholics, young and old, male and female, were dispersed into villages of nonbelievers. Christians’ cheeks were etched with a word. Families were separated, wives from husbands, children from their parents. Churches, community houses, and Christian properties were confiscated, given away or destroyed.
Against that background, on September 18, Bishop Hermosilla Liêm agonized over the decision to close Kẻ Mốt seminary. Fr. Khoa informed seminarians on the bishop’s behalf: “You do not have to say goodbye to the bishop otherwise he cannot control his tears.” Brother Khang, on the other hand, persistently begged and was chosen to accompany the bishop till the end. When saying goodbye to his friends, he spoke half truthfully and half jokingly: “I am determined to accompany the bishop. If the authorities arrest him, they will not let me go free: if the bishop die for faith, so do I; without the head, the legs have no fear.” From that night on the two, a bishop and a religious brother, started their life on the run. Although the future was cloudy, but Brother Khang still maintained his cheerfulness due to his trust in and willingness to sacrifice his life for God.
The first three weeks on the run, Brother Khang and the bishop lived in a trench in Thọ Ninh. However, the authorities had discovered it, so the two had to leave land for a fishing sampan. Brother Khang rowed the boat to the city of Hải Dương and took refuge in the boat of a Christian named Bính. The boat became the mobile “diocesan office” of the shepherd. After several days, the two encountered by chance Bishop Valentino Vinh and Fr. Almato Bình in another boat arriving from Kẻ Mê. It was an emotional and happy encounter of the four saint martyrs of Hải Dương. They thanked God for the special occasion, exchanged news and prayed together for the Church. In the morning, they went on their separate ways.
Unfortunately, there was a quarrel in Mr. Bính family. The eldest son became angry at his parents; he went to the authorities to inform them of his parents’ giving safe housing to priests. As a result, corporal Bằng led his a group of men to arrest the bishop. Seeing them approaching, Brother Khang picked up a wooden pole, which was used to push the sampan, and ran toward them as if to warn them: to arrest anyone, you must go pass me.
But the respected and friendly bishop tapped the brother’s shoulder and said: “Don’t hurt them, leave it to God’s will.” Surprised, Brother Khang turned around still dumbfounded, suddenly he understood and could utter only a word: “Yes,” then dropped the pole and extended his hands to be tied up. Soldiers brought them to city of Hải Dương and put them in separate jail cells.
* The Martyr of Dải Dương.
For a month and a half of incarceration, Brother Khang was jailed together with a number of Christians. He organized for the cell to pray three times a day, and to do penance nightly to prepare themselves for their martyrdom. During this time, he was brought into court three times, tortured until his buttocks were flattened; each time, he endured the pain not revealing any information on the clergy nor renouncing his faith as urged by the mandarins. After each session, Christian inmates cleaned and massaged him to reduce the pain.
From prison Brother Khang continued to write to his friends who were taking refuge in the village of Hảo Hội. He wrote in a letter:
“The mandarins tortured me one time to force me to reveal bishop’s hiding places, but I did not tell them anything and was willing to be beaten. Please pray for me.”
In another letter, he wrote:
“Please send me a pair of pants because mine is old and shredded by canes beating on it. Send me also a blanket to be used to cover my body for burial when I die.”
On 12/6/1861 Brother Khang was informed of the sentence of death by decapitation from the royal capital. He happily followed soldiers to the execution field of Năm Mẫu where the ground had been soaked with the blood of his beloved bishop on November 1. After his execution, the local people buried him in a field nearby.
In 1867, under Bishop Hy’s direction, Chief Hinh, the martyr’s brother exhumed his body and reburied in the church of Kẻ Mốt parish. Today his head is stored at the church of Hải Dương while his body is still in Kẻ Mốt.