Trương Bửu Diệp - Wikipedia

Vietnamese Catholic priest (1897–1946)

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In this Vietnamese name, the surname is Trương, but is often simplified to Truong in English-language text. In accordance with Vietnamese custom, this person should be referred to by the given name, Diệp.

VenerableTrương Bửu Diệp
Priest and Martyr
Born	(1897-01-01)January 1, 1897Long Xuyên, Cochinchina, French Indochina(now An Giang, Việt Nam)
Died	March 12, 1946(1946-03-12) (aged 49)Bạc Liêu, Cochinchina, French Indochina

Francis Xavier Truong Buu Diep (Vietnamese: Phanxicô Xaviê Trương Bửu Diệp or Cha Diệp; January 1, 1897 – March 12, 1946) was a Vietnamese Catholic priest who served the people of Bạc Liêu Province.[1] He was killed for the faith in 1946 and is set to be beatified in the Catholic Church on 2 July 2026 by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle at Tắc Sậy Church in Cà Mau.[2]

Biography

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Born on January 1, 1897, in An Giang Province, Diep was ordained in 1924 after completing his studies at Phnom Penh Major Seminary in Cambodia.[3]

Upon his return to Vietnam, Diep taught at a local seminary and served as a pastor of Tắc Sậy parish for 16 years.[4] He also founded many parishes in Cambodia and Vietnam.[5]

Diệp was arrested and killed in 1946 by two of three Japanese soldiers who, after the 1945 surrender of Japan, defected to Cao Triều Phát [vi],[a] an anti-French Cao Đài resistance leader whose forces joined the Việt Minh in 1945,[7] and who himself served as a local Việt Minh cadre.[8] After World War II, with the ousting of the French and the surrender of Japan, the Vietnamese were locked in a civil strife over the destiny of their post-colonial state, while the French returned to reclaim their former colony.

Earlier, Diệp enlisted French land surveyors to help Tắc Sậy's church reclaim encroached lands and earned the hatred of Boss Cận, the encroacher. Cận went to Phát and accused Diệp of colluding with the French who would exterminate the Cao Đài forces. Phát's two Japanese subordinates and other Cao Đài soldiers, possibly dispatched by Phát himself, imprisoned the Christians in a barn and plotted to burn them all alive, yet Diệp offered himself to be killed alone so other Christians could live; so the Japanese killed him and threw his naked and almost beheaded body into a shallow pool. Diệp's body was later drawn out and buried. Phát later had all three Japanese killed, because he either feared they would betray and likewise kill him as easily as they killed Diệp, or wanted to silence them.[6][9][10]

Veneration

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Referred to simply as Cha Diệp ("Father Diep"), he is venerated by devotees and even non-Christians in the Mekong Delta.

On March 12, 2016, the Diocese of Cần Thơ held the 70th anniversary of Diep's death. The event was attended by a large number of bishops – including Bishop of Can Tho Diocese, Stephen Tri Bửu Thiên; Bishop of Da Lat Diocese, Anton Vũ Huy Chương; Bishop of My Tho Diocese, Pierre Nguyễn Văn Khảm; and Bishop of Da Nang Diocese, Joseph Châu Ngọc Tri.[11]

Although Catholic, because of his supposed "supernatural powers," he is also worshipped by people of folk religions, sometimes alongside non-Christian Indigenous Vietnamese divinities.[citation needed]

Canonization

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In 2012, investigation was made to prepare for the canonization of Diep in the Catholic Church.[12]

On October 31, 2014, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a nihil obstat statement approving the process for Diep's canonization.[13]

In November 2024, Pope Francis signed a decree of martyrdom, clearing the way for his beatification, and granting him the title of Venerable.[14][15][16]

On 18 December 2025, Bishop Peter Lê Tấn Lợi of Cần Thơ announced that the Holy See has confirmed that Diệp is set to be beatified on 2 July 2026 by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, at Tắc Sậy Church in Cà Mau.[2]

Notes

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1. ^ Mistakenly called "Cao Trường Phát" by two interviewed witnesses[6]

References

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1. ^ "Open Letter". Retrieved February 13, 2019.
2. ^ a b "Tòa Giám Mục Cần Thơ – Thông báo: Lễ Phong chân phước cho Tôi tớ Chúa – Cha Phanxicô Trương Bửu Diệp". Giáo phận Cần Thơ. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
3. ^ Vu, J. B. "Devotion to Fr.Diep, Martyred Priest in Vietnam – Asia & Pacific – International – News". Catholic Online. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
4. ^ "people flock to tomb of vietnamese priest". ucanews.com. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
5. ^ "ASIAN JOURNAL a San Diego original. The 1st Asian Journal in Ca,USA. A Filipino American weekly. Online | Digital | Print Editions". asianjournalusa.com. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
6. ^ a b "Linh mục tử đạo Phanxicô Xaviê Trương Bửu Diệp qua lời kể của Đức Hồng Y Phạm Minh Mẫn và các nhân chứng khác" [Martyred Priest Francis-Xavier Trương Bửu Diệp In Stories Told by Cardinal Phạm Minh Mẫn and Other Witnesses]. Văn Nghệ (in Vietnamese) (436). November 17, 2011. Reproduced incompletely in "Cha Phanxicô Xaviê Trương Bửu Diệp tử đạo qua lời chứng của một số nhân chứng sống" [Martyred Father Francis-Xavier Trương Bửu Diệp through Testimonies by Some Living Witnesses]. Linh mục Mễn [Mễn the Priest]. August 3, 2022. And completely in "Đức Hồng Y Phạm Minh Mẫn và những người khác kể về cha Bửu Diệp" [Cardinal Phạm Minh Mẫn and Others Talk about Father Bửu Diệp]. www.saigonecho.org. January 13, 2012. Archived from the original on April 24, 2024.
7. ^ Phan Trung Nghĩa (August 31, 2012). "Cao Triều Phát đến với cách mạng và tham gia giành chính quyền". Bạc Liêu Online (in Vietnamese).
8. ^ "Cụ Cao Triều Phát - một chức sắc Cao Đài với sự nghiệp đại đoàn kết dân tộc". Báo Đại biểu Nhân dân (in Vietnamese). July 2024.
9. ^ "Mười vấn nạn liên quan đến tiến trình tuyên thánh Cha Phanxicô Xaviê Trương Bửu Diệp" [Ten Difficult Problems Concerning the Process to Canonize of Father Francis-Xavier Trương Bửu Diệp]. Hội ái mộ cha Trương Bửu Diệp Úc Châu [Association of Father Trương Bửu Diệp's Admirers in Oceania] (in Vietnamese).
10. ^ Nguyễn Thị Kiệm (January 14, 2020) [2010]. Huỳnh Chánh (ed.). "Ngày cuối đời của linh mục chánh xứ Phanxico Trương Bửu Diệp" [Parish Priest Francis Trương Bửu Diệp's Last Day Alive]. Sinh Viên Công Giáo [Catholic Students] (in Vietnamese). Follow-up: "Bối cảnh nhiễu nhương thời cha Trương Bửu Diệp vùng Tắc Sậy" [The Turbulent Context During Father Trương Bửu Diệp’s Time in the Tắc Sậy Area] (2018).
11. ^ THÁNH LỄ KHAI MẠC GIỖ LẦN THỨ 70 CHA F.X. TRƯƠNG BỬU DIỆP
12. ^ Source: Văn phòng Cáo Thỉnh Viên vụ án phong thánh cha Phanxicô Xaviê Trương Bửu Diệp chính thức lên tiếng. Read more here: [1].
13. ^ "Vatican chấp thuận việc tiến hành hồ sơ tuyên thánh cho cha Trương Bửu Diệp". VietCatholic. December 5, 2014.
14. ^ "Promulgation of Decrees of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, 25.11.2024". Holy See Press Office.
15. ^ "Pope declares Spanish mystic 'blessed,' advances other sainthood causes". Catholic Review. November 25, 2024. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
16. ^ "Fr Diệp, the first Vietnamese martyr of the 20th century, to become a Blessed". AsiaNews. November 25, 2024.

External links

[edit]

• Official biography on the website of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints
• Tac Say Catholic Church [2]

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