34TH WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME – YEAR C, MONDAY

By: Rev. Fr. Fredrick Kiwanuka

Luke 21:1-4

Today, we remember a group of 117 Martyrs of Vietnam. Through the missionary efforts of various religious groups beginning in the 16^th Century and continuing until 1862, the Vietnamese people heard the message of the Gospel, and many accepted it despite persecution and even death.

On June 19, 1988, Pope John II from the great number of Vietnamese Martyrs canonised 117 persons, martyred in the persecutions that lasted 100 years, between 1945 and 1862.

Among these were 96 Vietnamese, 11 Missionaries born in Spain and belonging to the Order of Preachers, and 10 French Missionaries belonging to the Paris Foreign Mission Society. Among 117 Saints, 8 are Spanish, and French Bishops, 50 Priests (13 European and 37 Vietnamese) and 59 lay people of every state of life.

These Martyrs gave their lives not only for the Church but for their Country as well. They showed that they wanted the Gospel of Christ to take root in their people and contribute to the good of their homeland. On June 1, 1989, these Martyrs were inscribed in the Liturgical Calendar of the Universal Church for November 24^th.

@Christ the King Parish, Kampala