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30-06-2006, 08:05 AM
July 20
Saint Joseph DIAZ SANJURJO AN
Dominican Bishop
(1818-1857)
* The Confiding Letter.
Through the words from the letter written in prison by Bishop Saint Joseph Diaz Sanjuro An, we can gain some insight into his heart. With a piece of paper torn from a book, he had carefully crafted every single alphabet to declare his faith, to express his desire to unite his life with the sacrificial Christ, and to affirm his belief in the eternal Heaven where he wished to reunite with his loved ones:
“The prisoner in God would like to say goodbye to the bishop and priests until our reunion day in Heaven. Please pardon all my mistakes and bad examples I set... The cangue and shackles, which I am carrying, are like Jesus’ gifts for me. I am very joyful and only wish to shed my blood for God, so that my blood will mix in with the Most Sacred Blood of Jesus washing away all my sins. Please pray for me to be strong till the end...”
Written in Nam Định prison, May 28, 1857
Fray José Maria.
* Dream and Effort.
Joseph Diaz Sanjurjo An came into the world on 10/26/1818 in Santa Eulatia de Suegos, Lugo province, Spain. He was the eldest child in a family of five children of which a girl, Antonia, became a nun. He went to Lugo seminary. Then because of civil war, he had to return home and his studies were interrupted for three years. Following the civil war, he entered the university of Compostella. During this period, Joseph Sanjurjo learned of and became enamored with the evangelizing work of the Dominican community in the Far East. At the most opportune time, he bade farewell to his parents and friends, and entered the Dominican novitiate of Santo Domingo Ocana of the Most Sacred Rosary Province that was responsible for evangelizing in the Far East.
On 0/23/1842 along with seven other novitiates, he received the habit of the Order of Preachers. The following year (9/24/1843), he professed the solemn vows before Provincial Orge. His religious life, his talents, and his dream of spreading the Good News had been noticed right when he was first at Ocana, six months later, he was sent to Cadiz to prepare for his trip to the Far East. He was ordained a priest at Cadiz on 3/23/1844, and together with five fellow clerics arrived Manila (the Philippines) on September 14 of the same year. Six months later, the young priest headed for Macao from where he went to the east vicariate of Tonkin on 9/12/1845 and took the Vietnamese name An. After spending a time to study Vietnamese, he was appointed to the Nam An seminary.
King Tự Đức’s persecution of 1848 had caused severe damage to the seminary. Fr. Sanjuro An and Fr. Alcazar Hy had to quickly disband the seminarians, hid sacramental vessels, and sadly saw the destruction of the seminary. In a letter sent to friends at home, he wrote: “We no longer have a home, books, clothes, nothing left. But we still have peace because of the Holy Teacher’s words: the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head...”
He had to take sanctuary in Ninh Cường for several weeks, then continued on to the Cao Xá region. Looking out for the future of the diocese, he reopened the seminary for the former students right at Cao Xá. Also during this time, he wrote the book of Latin grammar in Vietnamese.
* The Dedicated Coadjutor Bishop.
In 1848, due to the increasing number of Catholics in the diocese, Bishop Hermosilla Liêm asked the Holy See to divide the region under the Dominicans’ responsibility into two dioceses. Through official paper of September 5, Pope Pius IX carved out the new central vicariate of Tonkin from the east vicariate of Tonkin. The east vicariate of Tonkin was composed area encompassing the two current dioceses, Bùi Chu and Thái Bình, with approximately 140.000 Catholics and 624 parishes.
Learned of his appointment as the bishop of the new diocese, Fr. Marti Gia became worried and consulted with Fr. Sanjurjo An who was at Trung Lễ. Cordially, Fr. Sanjuro An and Fr. Marti Gia analyzed bishopric responsibilities along with difficulties during the persecution. Then he talked about the needs of Christian Communities to the ministerial roles of the various Christian organizations. Finally, he successfully convinced Fr. Marti Gia to accept the honor which was also the burden of shepherding the new diocese.
But there was one surprise: in the apostolic epistle appointing Fr. Marti Gia bishop, the Holy See allowed the new bishop the privilege of choosing his assistant bishop. Bishop Marti Gia immediately selected as his assistant bishop Fr. Sanjuro An who had convinced him to take the job. On 4/5/1849, Fr. Sanjurjo An was consecrated titular bishop of Platea together with Fr. Alcazar Hy who was elected assistant bishop to Bishop Hermosilla Liêm.
Afterward, the new assistant bishop returned to Cao Xá to continue guiding the seminary. In a letter sent to his family, the bishop wrote: “Here, the high position only brings more work; I often have to walk, and sometimes had to walk barefoot. Many times, I had to wade in the mud up to my knees to avoid my pursuers.”
In March 1850, Bishop Sanjuro An relinquished the seminary to Fr. Sampedro Xuyên, then went on a pastoral visit thoughout the whole province of Hưng Yên. However, the pastoral visit had to be suspended because the authority was pursuing relentlessly. Two Vietnamese priests accompanying the bishop were arrested. Returning to Cao Xá, the bishop was sick with malaria for a time.
* The Dedicated Shepherd.
In 1853, Bishop Marti Gia fell seriously ill that he had to leave the land of evangelization and passed away on April 26 in Hong Kong. From then on, Bishop Sanjuro An had to shoulder the whole central vicariate of Tonkin. He relocated to the chancery in Bùi Chu where he directed the evangelization effort. The number of converts increased quickly. The 1852 baptismal registration of the diocese had 28.355 extra names. The bishop wrote:
“It is a reward of encouragement to missionaries to continue their ministries regardless of all evil conspiracies, not yielding to miseries or scarcity, dangers and challenges which would come...”
In 1854, Bishop Sanjurjo An celebrated a solemn mass commemorating the patriarch Saint Dominic in Lục Thuỷ, attended by priests, seminarians, sisters, and more than 20,000 Christians. After the mass, the bishop convened a meeting to discuss diocesan matters. He even organized bible study competitions between parishes and discussions about religions with believers of different faiths. He once wrote several religious issues in Chinese Han and gave them to teachers of the Chinese language and invited them over for a conference. On the scheduled day, approximately 30 mostly non-believing teachers came. The bishop opened the conference and started the discussion, then listened to the teachers’ opinions. His answers to their questions were so complete that the teachers and people of the district became admirers.
In 1855, three new priests arrived in Vietnam by way of Macao carrying with them an apostolic paper appointing Bishop Sanjuro An the administrative bishop of the central vicariate and gave him the privilege of choosing an assistant bishop. Bishop Sanjuro An chose Fr. Sampedro Xuyên and celebrated the consecration mass on September 16 at the Bùi Chu cathedral with the attendance of 49 priests and a large number of Christians; the number of guests attending the mass was so huge that the area around Bùi Chu ran out of lodging rooms.
The number of pagan children baptized during the year was 35,349.
Saint Joseph DIAZ SANJURJO AN
Dominican Bishop
(1818-1857)
* The Confiding Letter.
Through the words from the letter written in prison by Bishop Saint Joseph Diaz Sanjuro An, we can gain some insight into his heart. With a piece of paper torn from a book, he had carefully crafted every single alphabet to declare his faith, to express his desire to unite his life with the sacrificial Christ, and to affirm his belief in the eternal Heaven where he wished to reunite with his loved ones:
“The prisoner in God would like to say goodbye to the bishop and priests until our reunion day in Heaven. Please pardon all my mistakes and bad examples I set... The cangue and shackles, which I am carrying, are like Jesus’ gifts for me. I am very joyful and only wish to shed my blood for God, so that my blood will mix in with the Most Sacred Blood of Jesus washing away all my sins. Please pray for me to be strong till the end...”
Written in Nam Định prison, May 28, 1857
Fray José Maria.
* Dream and Effort.
Joseph Diaz Sanjurjo An came into the world on 10/26/1818 in Santa Eulatia de Suegos, Lugo province, Spain. He was the eldest child in a family of five children of which a girl, Antonia, became a nun. He went to Lugo seminary. Then because of civil war, he had to return home and his studies were interrupted for three years. Following the civil war, he entered the university of Compostella. During this period, Joseph Sanjurjo learned of and became enamored with the evangelizing work of the Dominican community in the Far East. At the most opportune time, he bade farewell to his parents and friends, and entered the Dominican novitiate of Santo Domingo Ocana of the Most Sacred Rosary Province that was responsible for evangelizing in the Far East.
On 0/23/1842 along with seven other novitiates, he received the habit of the Order of Preachers. The following year (9/24/1843), he professed the solemn vows before Provincial Orge. His religious life, his talents, and his dream of spreading the Good News had been noticed right when he was first at Ocana, six months later, he was sent to Cadiz to prepare for his trip to the Far East. He was ordained a priest at Cadiz on 3/23/1844, and together with five fellow clerics arrived Manila (the Philippines) on September 14 of the same year. Six months later, the young priest headed for Macao from where he went to the east vicariate of Tonkin on 9/12/1845 and took the Vietnamese name An. After spending a time to study Vietnamese, he was appointed to the Nam An seminary.
King Tự Đức’s persecution of 1848 had caused severe damage to the seminary. Fr. Sanjuro An and Fr. Alcazar Hy had to quickly disband the seminarians, hid sacramental vessels, and sadly saw the destruction of the seminary. In a letter sent to friends at home, he wrote: “We no longer have a home, books, clothes, nothing left. But we still have peace because of the Holy Teacher’s words: the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head...”
He had to take sanctuary in Ninh Cường for several weeks, then continued on to the Cao Xá region. Looking out for the future of the diocese, he reopened the seminary for the former students right at Cao Xá. Also during this time, he wrote the book of Latin grammar in Vietnamese.
* The Dedicated Coadjutor Bishop.
In 1848, due to the increasing number of Catholics in the diocese, Bishop Hermosilla Liêm asked the Holy See to divide the region under the Dominicans’ responsibility into two dioceses. Through official paper of September 5, Pope Pius IX carved out the new central vicariate of Tonkin from the east vicariate of Tonkin. The east vicariate of Tonkin was composed area encompassing the two current dioceses, Bùi Chu and Thái Bình, with approximately 140.000 Catholics and 624 parishes.
Learned of his appointment as the bishop of the new diocese, Fr. Marti Gia became worried and consulted with Fr. Sanjurjo An who was at Trung Lễ. Cordially, Fr. Sanjuro An and Fr. Marti Gia analyzed bishopric responsibilities along with difficulties during the persecution. Then he talked about the needs of Christian Communities to the ministerial roles of the various Christian organizations. Finally, he successfully convinced Fr. Marti Gia to accept the honor which was also the burden of shepherding the new diocese.
But there was one surprise: in the apostolic epistle appointing Fr. Marti Gia bishop, the Holy See allowed the new bishop the privilege of choosing his assistant bishop. Bishop Marti Gia immediately selected as his assistant bishop Fr. Sanjuro An who had convinced him to take the job. On 4/5/1849, Fr. Sanjurjo An was consecrated titular bishop of Platea together with Fr. Alcazar Hy who was elected assistant bishop to Bishop Hermosilla Liêm.
Afterward, the new assistant bishop returned to Cao Xá to continue guiding the seminary. In a letter sent to his family, the bishop wrote: “Here, the high position only brings more work; I often have to walk, and sometimes had to walk barefoot. Many times, I had to wade in the mud up to my knees to avoid my pursuers.”
In March 1850, Bishop Sanjuro An relinquished the seminary to Fr. Sampedro Xuyên, then went on a pastoral visit thoughout the whole province of Hưng Yên. However, the pastoral visit had to be suspended because the authority was pursuing relentlessly. Two Vietnamese priests accompanying the bishop were arrested. Returning to Cao Xá, the bishop was sick with malaria for a time.
* The Dedicated Shepherd.
In 1853, Bishop Marti Gia fell seriously ill that he had to leave the land of evangelization and passed away on April 26 in Hong Kong. From then on, Bishop Sanjuro An had to shoulder the whole central vicariate of Tonkin. He relocated to the chancery in Bùi Chu where he directed the evangelization effort. The number of converts increased quickly. The 1852 baptismal registration of the diocese had 28.355 extra names. The bishop wrote:
“It is a reward of encouragement to missionaries to continue their ministries regardless of all evil conspiracies, not yielding to miseries or scarcity, dangers and challenges which would come...”
In 1854, Bishop Sanjurjo An celebrated a solemn mass commemorating the patriarch Saint Dominic in Lục Thuỷ, attended by priests, seminarians, sisters, and more than 20,000 Christians. After the mass, the bishop convened a meeting to discuss diocesan matters. He even organized bible study competitions between parishes and discussions about religions with believers of different faiths. He once wrote several religious issues in Chinese Han and gave them to teachers of the Chinese language and invited them over for a conference. On the scheduled day, approximately 30 mostly non-believing teachers came. The bishop opened the conference and started the discussion, then listened to the teachers’ opinions. His answers to their questions were so complete that the teachers and people of the district became admirers.
In 1855, three new priests arrived in Vietnam by way of Macao carrying with them an apostolic paper appointing Bishop Sanjuro An the administrative bishop of the central vicariate and gave him the privilege of choosing an assistant bishop. Bishop Sanjuro An chose Fr. Sampedro Xuyên and celebrated the consecration mass on September 16 at the Bùi Chu cathedral with the attendance of 49 priests and a large number of Christians; the number of guests attending the mass was so huge that the area around Bùi Chu ran out of lodging rooms.
The number of pagan children baptized during the year was 35,349.