Saint Vicente Liem de la Paz

Vicente Liêm de la Paz (English: Vicente Liêm of Peace) (Vietnamese: Vinh Sơn Hòa Bình or Vinh Sơn Liêm) (1732 – 7 November 1773) was a Tonkinese (present day northern Vietnamese) Dominican friar venerated as a saint and martyr by the Catholic Church along with other Vietnamese Martyrs in 1988. Liêm was born at Trà Lũ village, in the phủ of Thiên Trường, Nam Định Province, Tonkin in 1732 to Christian parents, Antôn and Maria Doãn, members of the Tonkinese nobility. When he fell gravely ill several days after his birth, he was baptised by Fr. Chien de Santo Tomas, taking the name of Vincent. He was later brought by his parents to a missionary centre where he learned catechism. In 1738, King Philip V of Spain opened the Colegio de San Juan de Letran and the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in the Philippines to Chinese and Tonkinese students through a scholarship program. The Vicariate Apostolic of Eastern Tonkin, ran by Dominican friars at the time, decided to let Liêm and four other Tonkinese (Jose de Santo Tomas, Juan de Santo Domingo, Pedro Martir and Pedro de San Jacinto) study in the Philippines under this scholarship. Vicente took the trivium and the quadrivium in Colegio de San Juan de Letran, now the equivalent of elementary and secondary education. He finished a degree of lector of humanities at Letran. He continued his collegiate education at the University of Santo Tomas while residing at Letran. In September 1753, after completing his studies at Letran, he entered the Dominican order, along with his three Tonkinese companions. A year later, they made their solemn professions. On 28 January 1755, he received the tonsure and minor orders at the Church of Sta. Ana. In 1758 Liêm was ordained priest under the Dominican order. On September of that year, he passed the examinations to hear confessions. On 3 October, he started his journey back to his homeland and arrived on 20 January 1759.