Saint Anthony Nguyễn Hữu Quỳnh

Saint Anthony Nguyễn Hữu Quỳnh (born c. 1768 in Mỹ Hương, Quảng Bình Province, Vietnam; died July 10, 1840, in Đồng Hới, Quảng Bình Province, Vietnam) was a martyr and a saint of the Catholic Church. Anthony Nguyễn Hữu Quỳnh was the son of Anthony Nguyễn Hữu Hiệp and Magdalene Lộc. As a teenager, he wished to become a priest, but because his two brothers shared the same desire, his parents asked him to remain at home to continue the family line. Anthony served in the military for a time before studying medicine and becoming a well-known local physician. He often treated the poor for free and even provided them with financial assistance. At the request of Bishop Labartette, he also taught religion. He was arrested during the persecutions of 1838 and executed by strangulation on July 10, 1840. His feast day is November 24, as part of the group of the 117 Vietnamese Martyrs. He was beatified by Leo XIII on May 27, 1900, and canonized by John Paul II on June 19, 1988, as one of the 117 Vietnamese Martyrs.