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The Catholic Church and the Nguyen Dynasty of Viet Nam

Viet-Nam is a nation which has had to endure a great deal of suffering in recent years, and the Christian religion along with them. The history of the Catholic Church in Viet Nam has not always been a peaceful one, and sometimes the actions of "Catholics" were to blame. Still, there has been some progress, and with Faith in God and the intercession of Our Lady of Lavang the future shines a bright light for improvement. Today, Viet Nam is home to the second-largest Catholic community in the Far East, only the Philippines has more. However, the Faithful of Viet Nam are forced to live under a Communist tyranny, where the State has supreme authority over Church matters, keeping them out of full communion with Rome. Heroic priests who support freedom and human rights, like the great Father Nguyen Van Ly, are placed under arrest for even the slightest criticizm of the Vietnamese Communist Party. Thankfully, traditionalist Vietnamese, led by the Nguyen Imperial Family, are fighting a valiant campaign to end the Communist tyranny and free Viet Nam.

Our Lady of Lavang

The Catholic Church and the Imperial Nguyen Dynasty have a history that goes back to Msgr. Pierre Pigneau de Behaine, Bishop of Adran who was running a missionary center on a small island off the South Vietnamese coast. He befriended and saved the life of Prince Nguyen-Phuc Anh, the sole survivor of the Nguyen House, who was being hunted and persecuted by the regime of the Tay Son. The two became fast friends. The Tay Son had not only tried to exterminate the Nguyen Dynasty, but had also mounted a bloody campaign against all of the Christian converts in Viet Nam. It was during this time of sorrow that Our Lady of Lavang first appeared to the suffering Vietnamese. Naturally, the Catholic community and the Nguyen Dynasty became staunch allies in the struggle to reunite Viet Nam and restore the traditional monarchy.
Ultimately, with the help of Bishop Behaine, the Nguyen were successful in the drive north, reuniting Viet Nam, ending the persecution of Christians and founding the nation of Viet Nam as we know it today. Prince Nguyen Phuc Anh was crowned as Emperor Gia Long in 1802.

Msgr. Pierre Pigneau de Behaine

Earlier, in his dealings with the Kingdom of France, as a sign of his good faith, the Emperor has given Bishop Behaine charge of his young son, Crown Prince Nguyen Phuc Canh. He caused a lot of excitement at the court of King Louis XVI and was adored by Queen Marie Antoinette. Crown Prince Canh became the first Vietnamese royal to recieve a western style education, and the first to be baptized into the Roman Catholic Church. Crown Prince Canh returned to Viet Nam later to help lead the Nguyen armies in the campaign against the Tay Son. Pigneau was with Crown Prince Canh's army when he died of dysentery in 1799. The Catholic Bishop was given the most spectacular funeral ever given for a foreigner in Viet Nam. That same year, it was the army of the Catholic Crown Prince, Nguyen Phuc Canh, that delivered the final defeat on the Tay Son forces at Quinhon, though he was only 19-years-old at the time.
Although the Catholics were a small minority in Viet Nam, and regarded with a great deal of suspicion, Christians would always enjoy equal rights by Emperor Gia Long, out of respect to his friend Pigneau. However, after the death of Emperor Gia Long, the French government began using missionaries to do their dirty work in manipulating Viet Nam. It was discovered that Catholic missionaries had been

Crown Prince Nguyen Phuc Canh

moving out of spiritual into political matters and had helped orchestrate several plots to overthrow the Nguyen Dynasty. These men were tried and sentanced to death, only to be pardoned by the Emperor, but then still persisted in trying to influence political events. Conflict seemed unavoidable, and France used this as a prelude to invasion, and the total conquest of the Empire of Viet Nam. The events were purely political and many lies were spread about the Nguyen rulers, who were accused of being harsh and cruel. However, Emperor Minh Mang was described by numerous foreign visitors, even French, to be scholarly and gentle almost to the point of being effeminate. He had invited the missionaries to his court but was ignored. Likewise, his son, Emperor Thieu Tri, pardoned and deported Christian missionaries causing trouble in Viet Nam, only to have them come back again. His son, Emperor Tu Duc, was also accused of hating Christians, despite the fact that one of his highest officials was a Catholic convert, who had even been given the Emperor's permission to visit the Vatican and bring back Christian literature to Viet Nam. Fortunately though, there was light at the end of the tunnel.