The Christian Faith came to Vietnam in the early 17th century. In the 19th century, however, between 1820 and 1862, three separate waves of severe persecution broke out against the Church. It is estimated that 100,000-300,000 Catholics were killed or subjected to severe privation. St Andrew was a priest who showed great courage in caring for the faithful in very dangerous times. His memorial, along with a representative group of 117 companions (the youngest of whom was nine years old), celebrates all those many Christians who died for the Faith in Vietnam. To this very day, the Church suffers great hardship in Vietnam under the Communist rulers.
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