Robaird O’Cearbhaill
Hong Kong Correspondent
Marcel Nguyễn Tân Văn (1928-1951), Vietnamese Redemptorist brother, was a visionary, mystic and author. He gave all to tortured, starving prisoners with him. He died in prison of exhaustion and disease.
The inmates were tortured by very hard labor, hunger and lack of both spiritual and emotional help. Văn’s example of piety and calm inspired many prisoners spiritually and emotionally, they would recount later. Văn’s aim to help in North Vietnam was objectively a terrible way, but he accepted the sacrifice and suffering as his duty.
Van asked to go back to dangerous North Vietnam, from relatively safe South Vietnam, because he wanted to help. “Jesus confided a mission to me, that of turning suffering into joy … My joy is to love and to be loved,” is a well known quotation. Much about his life and religious views have been published.
His autobiography is prefaced by Cardinal (later Venerable President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace) Nguyễn Văn Thuận. The cardinal was the general postulant for Văn’s beatification process and thus Văn has been declared a Servant of God.
There were three (English) books (many more in French) by him or about him. The Conversations were accounts of his prayer visions of St Therese of Lisieux, who inspired him, Jesus, and Mother Mary. Also, his first vision was that of the founder of the Redemptorists (officially, Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer) St Alphonsus Ligouri, whom he did not recognize until he saw a portrait.
The book’s foreword is by Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, of the diocese of the Austrian capital, Vienna.
Another volume contains his correspondence. His writing was kept by his Redemptionist spiritual director, Antoine .
Another detailed Văn biography is online at the Marcel Văn Association website.
Before the tough prison camp Van’s life had not been without travails nor was his journey to religious life joyful outside of home.
The family was very Catholic. Văn, at the earliest age, enjoyed religious activities and solid education from his mother. She turned his life more towards spirituality, partly by accident, while he was only seven by bringing him to a priest’s house. Liking the priest. Van petitioned his mother to stay there. His enthusiasm won.
At a young age, after his first communion, Marcel asked God for two graces: purity, so that he could love God with all his heart, and that of giving all men and women a perfect and rock solid faith.
Happy Văn studied hard, was devout and exercised his duties. But other boys envied this and targeted him. Van suffered malicious physical, emotional bullying for seven years.
But fate intervened by moving him in with the Dominicans, where he fared much better, later joining the Redemptorists and there was inspired St Therese of Lisieux’s famous Little Way. (Photo from https://nhathothaiha.net/)
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