Nguyễn Văn Thuận

François Xavier Nguyên Van Thuan, Cardinal ( born April 17, 1928 in Hue, Vietnam; † 16 September 2002 in Rome) was archbishop of Saigon and later Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the nephew of the first South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem.

Early life

Its name combines Western names tradition (François Xavier as a first name before the family name Nguyen ) with Vietnamese ( Van Thuan as a personal name stands behind the family name ).

1941 Nguyen Van Thuan entered the An Ninh Minor Seminary and was ordained a priest on 11 June 1953. After six years of further studies in Rome, he was from 1959 to 1967 faculty member and rector of the Seminary of Nha Trang. In 1967, he was appointed and ordained Bishop of Nha Trang.

On April 24, 1975, he was Koadjutorerzbischof of Saigon and Titular Archbishop of Vadesi. Nguyen Van Thuan was known as the new bishop of Saigon for his faith or his family ties to Ngo Dinh Diem. He was imprisoned in a re-education camp for 13 years by the communist government of Vietnam, including nine years in solitary confinement. During the jail time he smuggled messages out to his people on scraps of paper. These brief considerations were further copied by hand and circulated in the Vietnamese community. They were later printed in the book "Hope paths ". Another book " Prayers of Hope," includes his prayers, which he had written during the prison time.

In exile

On November 21, 1988 Nguyen Van Thuan was released by the communist government, but was forced into exile. He was picked up by John Paul II in the Vatican City State and directed since 1994 the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, where he took mainly the debt problem of developing countries.

John Paul II took him on 21 February 2001 as a cardinal deacon with the title Diakonia Santa Maria della Scala to the College of Cardinals. Within a week, the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry eased restrictions and the Cardinal was able to travel to his home country as foreign visitors.

On 16 September 2002 Nguyen Van Thuan died of cancer in a hospital in Rome at the age of 74 years.

Process of beatification

The process of beatification was opened in Rome on October 22, 2010. The diocesan phase of the process was completed in June 2013. Further testing is therefore for the Congregation for the Causes of Saints of the Roman Curia. Pope Francis called him on July 6, 2013, a "witness (s) of hope."