Catholic saint biography
St. Martin Tạ Đức Thịnh
- Lived:
- Vietnam
A scoped Catholic liturgical calendar date has not been verified. The page heading and execution anniversary are not treated as a feast; a shared celebration requires its own calendar citation.
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Biography
Martin Tạ Đức Thịnh came from Kẻ Sét near Hà Nội and was one of nine children. He declined the marriage and military service being arranged for him and entered religious formation. After ordination he became secretary to Bishop Jacques Longer and accompanied him on a visit to Emperor Gia Long. His later parish work included Cửa Bạng, Đồng Chuối, Nam Sang, and Trình Xuyên.
Martin paid particular attention to children's religious instruction and practical needs such as parish roads. In old age, painful illness accompanied the difficulty of finding shelter during persecution. He eventually stayed in a house at Kẻ Báng, where officials captured him with other priests. He was beheaded at Bảy Mẫu with Joseph Nghi and Paul Ngân in 1840 and canonized in 1988.
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What will you carry with you?
After reading about St. Martin Tạ Đức Thịnh, take a moment to consider:
- Which event or decision in this life stood out to you?
- What virtue would you like to understand or practice more deeply?
- What small action could you take today in response?
These are reflection prompts from Saint Discovery, not quotations from the saint.
Sources and further reading
- Archdiocese of Hanoi: Martin Tạ Đức Thịnh ↗
- Holy See: individual register of the 117 Vietnamese martyrs (41) ↗
Biography source comparison recorded on . This is an AI-assisted comparison, not independent human or ecclesiastical approval.
What the recorded review covers
Individual Catholic institutional source review; original concise factual summary. AI-assisted institutional-source comparison; no qualified human review is claimed. Compared canonical and source names, aliases, clergy or lay status, family relationships and martyrdom details against all 685 baseline canonical or archived identities (625 published) and all prior directory batches. Holy See register number 41 is a distinct individual; source-name variants count as one person.
A source list helps you check an account; it does not establish that every claim is certain. Follow the biography’s qualifications about historical evidence, traditions and feast calendars.
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