Nguyen Van Thuan
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His Eminence François-Xavier Cardinal Nguyên Van Thuán was a Cardinal in the Roman Catholic church. He was the nephew of South Vietnam first President Ngo Dinh Diem and of Archbishop Ngo Dinh Thuc.
Nguyen Van Thuan was born on April 17, 1928 at the Imperial Capital of Hue, Vietnam.
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[edit] Early life
In 1941, Nguyen Van Thuan joined An Ninh Minor Seminary and was ordained a priest on June 11, 1953. After six years of further studies in Rome, he was appointed in 1959-1967 as a faculty member and rector of the Seminary of Nha Trang.
| Styles of François Cardinal Nguyên Van Thuán |
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| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
| See | Vadesi (titular) |
On April 24, 1975, he was appointed by deputy Archbishop of Saigon. During the invasion of South Vietnam by the Communist North Vietnamese Army and their Viet Cong agents, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) were defending the capital city of Saigon, but failed due to lack of leadership and low supplies, which led to the capture Saigon and defeat of South Vietnam under communist North Vietnam's control.
Nguyen Van Thuan, as the new Bishop of Saigon, was targeted for his faith as well as his family connection to Ngo Dinh Diem. He was detained by the Communist Government of Vietnam in a reeducation camp for 13 years, 9 of them in solitary confinement.
While in prison, he smuggled out messages to his people on scraps of paper. These brief reflections, copied by hand and circulated within the Vietnamese community, have been printed in the book The Road of Hope. Another book, Prayers of Hope, contains his prayers written in prison. The bishop fashioned a tiny Bible out of scraps of paper. Sympathetic guards smuggled in a piece of wood and some wire from which he crafted a small crucifix.
[edit] In Exile
On November 21, 1988, Nguyen Van Thuan was released by the communist government and forced into exile. He was received by John Paul II into the Vatican City, and ran the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, handling issues such as Third World debt.
On February 21, 2001, Nguyen Van Thuan was created a Cardinal Deacon of S. Maria della Scala. Within a week, Viêt Nam's Foreign Ministry eased restrictions and the Cardinal could enter his native country with only routine immigration procedures and was afforded all the privileges normally given to overseas citizens.
On September 16, 2002, Nguyen Van Thuan died of cancer in a clinic in Rome, Italy, at the age of 74.
Prior to his death, Nguyen Van Thuan had appeared on lists of possible successors to Pope John Paul II.
[edit] Quotes
- Speaking of his mother, Van Thuan said, "When I was in prison, she was my great comfort. She said to all, 'Pray that my son will be faithful to the Church and remain where God wants him'."
- "In our country there is a saying: ‘A day in prison is worth a thousand autumns of freedom.' I myself experienced this. While in prison, everyone waits for freedom, every day, every minute. We must live each day, each minute of our life as though it is the last."
