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25-07-2006, 08:32 PM
September 20
Saint John CHARLES CORNAY TÂN
Society of Foreign Missions of ParisPriest
(1809-1837)
* The Saber Will Anoint Me.
“God, please accept my contrition in place of my confession and my blood in place of the sacrament of anointment. My conscience is clear of mortal sins, but regardless I cannot assume that I am just... Mary, please witness my contrition and the anointment by the saber.”
That was John Charles Cornay Tân’s prayer and heartfelt expression on his day of execution. In front of him that day was a just God who judged and rewarded as well as a God who loved and forgave those who dared sacrificed everything for loving Him.
* Choosing This Place as My Second Country.
John Charles Cornay Tân was born on 2/28/1809 in Loudun, France, into a wealthy family. At an early age, besides his studies, he spent his time to only have fun with his friends. After high school, responding to God’s call, he entered Saumur seminary, Mont Morillon, and later to the major seminary of the Society of Foreign Missions of Paris in 1830. He was ordained a deacon the following year and boarded a ship for the Far East. At Macao, his superior sent him to Tứ Xuyên, China, however the trip there had to go through Canton where the Chinese government stopped all missionaries' travel. So he tried to circumvent Canton by going through Vietnam.
In Vietnam he took on the Vietnamese name Tân and waited for the trip to China in An Tôn parish. Unfortunately, the two Chinese Christians who went to Vietnam to pick him up came down with cholera in Hà Nội and passed away. Deacon John Charles Cornay Tân then headed to the Diocese of the Cochin China where he was ordained into the priesthood by Bishop Harvard Du on 4/20/1834. Afterward, he reversed direction by going back to the West Diocese of the North and served in Sơn Tây. Travel to China was still forbidden, so in 1836 he officially asked to stay in Việt Nam, and was sent to Bầu Nọ parish to assist pastor Marette. Assisting Fr. John Charles Cornay Tân was two catechists Paul Mỹ and Peter Đường, who were later arrested on the same day as the priest.
To Fr. John Charles Cornay Tân, Việt Nam was the second country that he loved. When he became very ill, many advised him to go back to France for treatment, he said: “God sent me here, I am not leaving, even If I am going to die.” And it became a reality.
* Right Attitude Wrong Reason.
A man named Đức, leader of a gang of robbers, in Bầu Nọ village was apprehended by Christians and taken to the mandarin. In revenge, he denounced that villagers were hiding European priests. At the time, not really enamored with the edict of persecution, the mandarin of Sơn Tây city, Lê Văn Đức, ignored this information. Mr. Đức then made up a story that Fr. Charles Cornay Tân was urging the people to rebel. He asked his wife, Yến, to pretend to learn catechism to locate the priest’s hiding place, then hid weapons there before going to the authority. The gang leader became successful with this conspiracy. Hearing of a rebellion, the mandarin led an army of 1500 soldiers to surround Bầu Nọ village on 6/20/1837. At first, the Bầu Nọ village chief, also a Catholic, tried to shield Fr. Tân, but when the mandarin took him to the weapons cache and tortured him, he immediately revealed the missionary’s hiding place. Meanwhile hiding in the dense bush and seeing saber blades piercing next to him, Fr. Charles Cornay Tân stood up and showed himself. The mandarin had cangue put on him and threw him into a cage to bring him to Sơn Tây city.
The priest recounted in a letter:
“On Thursday June 22, the escort convoy started in the early morning. Throughout the trip, I prayed, talked and sang nonstop. The people gathered around me and praised my cheerfulness.”
His singing was very good and attracted many curiosities. For several days, the mandarin coerced him to sing before feeding him. The priest immediately chose a song praising the Blessed Mother... And he was imprisoned for almost three months.
Informed of the priest’s arrest, King delegated the provincial mandarin to try him. The authorities summoned to the tribunal and forced him to admit to treason. The priest replied:
“Your Honor, we only teach people to do good and to avoid bad, teach children to follow the king. I cannot go against my teachings to rebel against the king.”
On August 11, Fr. Charles Cornay Tân was beaten 50 times by a whip made up of many strands at the ends of which were attached lead balls which tore up his flesh causing blood to soak up his clothes. Even so, he did not utter a word of complaint, but continued to sing gospel hymns. Eight days later, the mandarin made him walk over the cross, he picked up the cross and kissed it respectfully. Soldiers damaged three rattan whips by beating him before returned him back to his cell. Another time, when forced to admit to organizing a rebellion, he emphatically declared:
“No, I rather suffer all types of tortures rather admit to a crime that I did not commit. I get to live, but have live in infamy forever.”
* Sing Until Death.
Finally, the mandarins sentenced him to death by beheading, but when their petition was sent to the royal capital of Huế, King Minh Mạng changed it to death by dismemberment. Receiving the news of his sentence from Fr. Jaccard Phan, Fr. Charles Cornay Tân wrote back to thank him and sent words of farewell to everyone. He also wrote a letter to his family:
“Dear mother and father, do not be sad about my death. It is not a day of mourning, but a day of happiness. Please think that after my brief sufferings I will always remember you in Heaven. Please accept my love. Cornay.”
On 9/20/1837 he was taken to the execution site in Năm Mẫu on the outskirt of Sơn Tây. Sitting in the cage among the columns of soldiers, the priest cheerfully prayed and sang gospel hymns. At the execution site, the priest asked for a short moment to pray, then removed his clothes and lied on a sedge mat. The executioner drove four stakes into the ground on four sides of the priest and tied his hands and feet to them.
The rules of execution by dismemberment required the executioner to amputate the legs and arms first, but the mandarin was humane by ordering beheading first, then arms and legs. Finally, the executioner cut his body into four pieces. Seeing the prisoner’s courage, the execution team ate his liver and licked the blood left on the saber blade with the wishful hope of becoming more courageous.
With the mandarin’s permission, Bách Lộc’s parishioners buried his body at the execution site. Two months later, it was exhumed and reburied in Chiêu Ửng.
Pope Leo XIII elevated Fr. Charles Cornay Tân to the rank of blessed on 5/27/1900.
Hoàng Tôn Thất
Saint John CHARLES CORNAY TÂN
Society of Foreign Missions of ParisPriest
(1809-1837)
* The Saber Will Anoint Me.
“God, please accept my contrition in place of my confession and my blood in place of the sacrament of anointment. My conscience is clear of mortal sins, but regardless I cannot assume that I am just... Mary, please witness my contrition and the anointment by the saber.”
That was John Charles Cornay Tân’s prayer and heartfelt expression on his day of execution. In front of him that day was a just God who judged and rewarded as well as a God who loved and forgave those who dared sacrificed everything for loving Him.
* Choosing This Place as My Second Country.
John Charles Cornay Tân was born on 2/28/1809 in Loudun, France, into a wealthy family. At an early age, besides his studies, he spent his time to only have fun with his friends. After high school, responding to God’s call, he entered Saumur seminary, Mont Morillon, and later to the major seminary of the Society of Foreign Missions of Paris in 1830. He was ordained a deacon the following year and boarded a ship for the Far East. At Macao, his superior sent him to Tứ Xuyên, China, however the trip there had to go through Canton where the Chinese government stopped all missionaries' travel. So he tried to circumvent Canton by going through Vietnam.
In Vietnam he took on the Vietnamese name Tân and waited for the trip to China in An Tôn parish. Unfortunately, the two Chinese Christians who went to Vietnam to pick him up came down with cholera in Hà Nội and passed away. Deacon John Charles Cornay Tân then headed to the Diocese of the Cochin China where he was ordained into the priesthood by Bishop Harvard Du on 4/20/1834. Afterward, he reversed direction by going back to the West Diocese of the North and served in Sơn Tây. Travel to China was still forbidden, so in 1836 he officially asked to stay in Việt Nam, and was sent to Bầu Nọ parish to assist pastor Marette. Assisting Fr. John Charles Cornay Tân was two catechists Paul Mỹ and Peter Đường, who were later arrested on the same day as the priest.
To Fr. John Charles Cornay Tân, Việt Nam was the second country that he loved. When he became very ill, many advised him to go back to France for treatment, he said: “God sent me here, I am not leaving, even If I am going to die.” And it became a reality.
* Right Attitude Wrong Reason.
A man named Đức, leader of a gang of robbers, in Bầu Nọ village was apprehended by Christians and taken to the mandarin. In revenge, he denounced that villagers were hiding European priests. At the time, not really enamored with the edict of persecution, the mandarin of Sơn Tây city, Lê Văn Đức, ignored this information. Mr. Đức then made up a story that Fr. Charles Cornay Tân was urging the people to rebel. He asked his wife, Yến, to pretend to learn catechism to locate the priest’s hiding place, then hid weapons there before going to the authority. The gang leader became successful with this conspiracy. Hearing of a rebellion, the mandarin led an army of 1500 soldiers to surround Bầu Nọ village on 6/20/1837. At first, the Bầu Nọ village chief, also a Catholic, tried to shield Fr. Tân, but when the mandarin took him to the weapons cache and tortured him, he immediately revealed the missionary’s hiding place. Meanwhile hiding in the dense bush and seeing saber blades piercing next to him, Fr. Charles Cornay Tân stood up and showed himself. The mandarin had cangue put on him and threw him into a cage to bring him to Sơn Tây city.
The priest recounted in a letter:
“On Thursday June 22, the escort convoy started in the early morning. Throughout the trip, I prayed, talked and sang nonstop. The people gathered around me and praised my cheerfulness.”
His singing was very good and attracted many curiosities. For several days, the mandarin coerced him to sing before feeding him. The priest immediately chose a song praising the Blessed Mother... And he was imprisoned for almost three months.
Informed of the priest’s arrest, King delegated the provincial mandarin to try him. The authorities summoned to the tribunal and forced him to admit to treason. The priest replied:
“Your Honor, we only teach people to do good and to avoid bad, teach children to follow the king. I cannot go against my teachings to rebel against the king.”
On August 11, Fr. Charles Cornay Tân was beaten 50 times by a whip made up of many strands at the ends of which were attached lead balls which tore up his flesh causing blood to soak up his clothes. Even so, he did not utter a word of complaint, but continued to sing gospel hymns. Eight days later, the mandarin made him walk over the cross, he picked up the cross and kissed it respectfully. Soldiers damaged three rattan whips by beating him before returned him back to his cell. Another time, when forced to admit to organizing a rebellion, he emphatically declared:
“No, I rather suffer all types of tortures rather admit to a crime that I did not commit. I get to live, but have live in infamy forever.”
* Sing Until Death.
Finally, the mandarins sentenced him to death by beheading, but when their petition was sent to the royal capital of Huế, King Minh Mạng changed it to death by dismemberment. Receiving the news of his sentence from Fr. Jaccard Phan, Fr. Charles Cornay Tân wrote back to thank him and sent words of farewell to everyone. He also wrote a letter to his family:
“Dear mother and father, do not be sad about my death. It is not a day of mourning, but a day of happiness. Please think that after my brief sufferings I will always remember you in Heaven. Please accept my love. Cornay.”
On 9/20/1837 he was taken to the execution site in Năm Mẫu on the outskirt of Sơn Tây. Sitting in the cage among the columns of soldiers, the priest cheerfully prayed and sang gospel hymns. At the execution site, the priest asked for a short moment to pray, then removed his clothes and lied on a sedge mat. The executioner drove four stakes into the ground on four sides of the priest and tied his hands and feet to them.
The rules of execution by dismemberment required the executioner to amputate the legs and arms first, but the mandarin was humane by ordering beheading first, then arms and legs. Finally, the executioner cut his body into four pieces. Seeing the prisoner’s courage, the execution team ate his liver and licked the blood left on the saber blade with the wishful hope of becoming more courageous.
With the mandarin’s permission, Bách Lộc’s parishioners buried his body at the execution site. Two months later, it was exhumed and reburied in Chiêu Ửng.
Pope Leo XIII elevated Fr. Charles Cornay Tân to the rank of blessed on 5/27/1900.
Hoàng Tôn Thất