Phillip Phan Van Minh

Philip Phan Van Minh was born in Vietnam and ordained a priest with the Society for Foreign Missions of Paris for the purpose of ministering in his homeland. He was beheaded by anti-Catholic forces July 3, 1853, becoming one of the 117 named Vietnamese martyrs who were brutally persecuted and who died for their faith from the time of the arrival of the first missionaries to Vietnam in the early 16th century until the 19th century.

The total number of Vietnamese martyrs is estimated at more than 100,000. Pope John Paul II recognized this extraordinary group by canonizing all of them June 19, 1988. He designated Nov. 24 as the feast day for Vietnam’s named and anonymous martyrs. Andrew Phu Yen, the 118th martyr, was beatified in March 2000 and is currently awaiting canonization.

A church named him as their patron saint in Florida.