GREENSBORO — Vietnamese Catholics gathered July 2 at Our Lady of Grace Church to celebrate the beatification of Blessed Francis Xavier Trương Bửu Diệp, a beloved Vietnamese priest who gave his life to save members of his flock.
Father Diệp ministered for years in rural southern Vietnam, where he was known for his care of the poor, the sick and those on the margins. During political unrest in 1946, he offered himself in place of parishioners who had been captured. The parishioners were ultimately released but Father Diệp was killed, and the Church later recognized him as a martyr.
More than 70,000 pilgrims gathered July 2 at Tắc Sậy Pilgrimage Center in Vietnam for his beatification Mass, the first beatification ever celebrated on Vietnamese soil.
Vietnamese Catholics in Greensboro gathered in prayer and thanksgiving the same day during a Mass by Father Casey Coleman, pastor.
In his homily, Father Coleman reflected on how Father Diệp responded generously to God’s grace. Every saint became a saint because they responded to God’s grace, he said, and he encouraged people today to model that same faith and willingness to love.
Attending the Mass was Sinh Pham, who said, “This gives the people of Vietnam great hope because Father Diệp brings the Christian model to the hearts and people of Vietnam.”
His wife Phuong Doan added, “We are very proud to see him elevated to Blessed. Father Diệp is beloved in Vietnam even by non-Catholics.”
— Georgianna Penn
Vietnamese Catholics urged to become ‘messengers of truth’ at historic beatification
TAC SAY, Vietnam — Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle urged Vietnamese Catholics to become “messengers of truth” July 2 as the Church beatified Father Francis Xavier Truong Buu Diệp in the first beatification ceremony held in Vietnam.
The historic celebration at Tac Say Pilgrimage Center in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta drew more than 70,000 pilgrims, while another 1 million watched on Church YouTube channels. Cardinal Tagle, Pope Leo XIV’s special envoy, presided over the Mass with 40 bishops and about 1,000 priests.
Tac Say is located in southern Ca Mau province, where Blessed Diệp’s remains are enshrined.
Authorities closed the national highway running through the pilgrimage center to accommodate the crowds, many of whom slept overnight on sidewalks surrounding the shrine. Vatican and Vietnamese flags lined the route alongside images of the newly beatified priest.
Cardinal Tagle, a pro-prefect in the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization, said Blessed Diệp’s life offers a timely witness in a world increasingly clouded by falsehood.
“I hope Blessed Francis Xavier will inspire not only Vietnamese Catholics but also many others to return to the truth of Jesus Christ,” he said in an interview published on the website of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Vietnam before the beatification, noting that “being a martyr means bearing witness to the truth about Jesus.”
“Today there are too many messengers of lies and fake news, and we no longer know what the truth is. Therefore, we need messengers of truth,” Cardinal Tagle said.
The cardinal said Blessed Diệp proclaimed that truth not only through his preaching but especially through his pastoral care of the poor and his willingness to remain with his people despite grave danger.
“Even in moments of peril, he did not abandon his flock but bore witness to the love of Jesus Christ,” Cardinal Tagle said.
He emphasized that genuine devotion to Blessed Diệp means far more than honoring his memory.
“True devotion to Blessed Francis Xavier means imitating him in daily life through justice, charity, compassion for the poor and commitment to Jesus – not only when it is convenient but also when it is difficult,” he said. “Let devotion to Blessed Francis Xavier become a way of life.”
In his homily, Cardinal Tagle said the new blessed “is inviting all of us not to deny Jesus, but to be witnesses or martyrs of His truth.”
He urged Catholics to choose honesty over corruption even if it meant remaining poor, to share their possessions with those in need rather than hoarding wealth, and “to be united” with Jesus “even when it is dangerous, and not only when it is convenient.”
Cardinal Tagle also revealed that the Holy See wanted the beatification to be celebrated in Vietnam so local Catholics could experience its significance firsthand.
The ceremony marked a milestone for the Church in Vietnam. Since Christianity reached the country nearly 500 years ago, all previous beatifications of Vietnamese martyrs had taken place in Rome, including that of Blessed Andrew Phu-Yen in 2000. St. John Paul II canonized 117 Vietnamese martyrs in 1988.
The Church designated March 12, the anniversary of his death, as the liturgical memorial of the newly Blessed Diệp.
Archbishop Marek Zalewski, the pontifical representative to Vietnam, called the celebration “a special grace for the universal Church.”
“The greatest meaning today is not that the Church has a new blessed,” he said. “It reminds us that the path to holiness remains open to every one of us.”
Bishop Peter Phan Tan Loi of Can Tho described the beatification as “a miracle,” noting that hundreds of thousands of people, including followers of other religions, came to honor Blessed Diệp.
Addressing non-Christian pilgrims, Bishop Loi stressed that Blessed Diệp belongs to everyone.
“He is a meeting place of compassion,” he said. “Millions of people from different backgrounds and different religions honoring him together is a great miracle of harmony and unity.”
He expressed hope that Tac Say would remain “a peaceful home for everyone,” where Blessed Diệp’s spirit of boundless love would inspire mutual care and help people discover God.
Born in 1897, in An Giang province, Father Diệp was ordained in 1924 and served Tac Say Parish from 1930 until his death, earning a reputation for caring for the poor and protecting Catholics during the First Indochina War.
Despite repeated pleas to flee, he refused, saying, “I live among my sheep, and if I must die, I will die among them.” He was killed March 12, 1946, by two Japanese deserters, according to a Can Tho diocesan investigation, which also concluded his death was unrelated to the communists, correcting decades of misconceptions.
His remains are enshrined at Tac Say, now one of Vietnam’s largest Catholic pilgrimage destinations, attracting millions of visitors each year.
Among the pilgrims was Mary Nguyen Thi Lai, who traveled from Binh Thuan province for the beatification.
“The beatification ceremony brought people from all walks of life together in honoring Blessed Diệp and a bright future for local Catholics,” she told OSV News.
“We hope local people will follow Diệp’s example and work together for the common good.”
— Joachim Pham, OSV News
Pictured at top: Pilgrims pray by the tomb of Blessed Francis Xavier Truong Buu Diệp at Tac Say Pilgrimage Center in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta on July 1, 2026. (OSV News/Joachim Pham)