Saint Luka Loan Ba Vu

Saint Luke Vũ Bá Loan (Vietnamese: Luca Vũ Bá Loan) (born c. 1756 in Vietnam – died June 5, 1840, in Ô Cầu Giấy, Vietnam) was a priest, martyr, and saint of the Catholic Church. He decided to dedicate his life to God at a young age. He studied in Phú Đa and Kẻ Bèo. After his ordination, he worked in the parish of Nam Sang for six months, and subsequently in Kẻ Vồi. Following the division of that parish into two parts by Bishop Longer in 1828, he was assigned to the newly established Kẻ Sở parish. He was already of advanced age when he was arrested during the persecutions. He was beheaded on June 5, 1840. His feast day is November 24, as part of the group of 117 Vietnamese Martyrs. He was beatified on May 27, 1900, by Leo XIII and canonized by John Paul II on June 19, 1988, as one of the 117 Vietnamese Martyrs (he is the oldest in this group).