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Antôn Nguyen Huu Quynh was born around 1768 in My Huong, Quang Binh, Vietnam, the fifth son of a military officer, Anton Nguyen Huu Hiep and his wife, Madalena Loc.
As a youth, he asked if he could study to become a priest, but his father told him that would not be a good idea, for his two older brothers already were in the religious life, and the father wanted Anton to get married to continue the family line. So, Anton did as his father wished.
In 1800, young Anton joined the army and became a Guard Lieutenant. But when the war came to an end, he decided that the military life was not for him. Therefore, he bought some farmland to cultivate. He got married and had some children. However, he also studied medicine during this time, and he became a very popular physician in the area. As a physician, he loved to care for the poor, and he was noted for giving free medical treatment. Sometimes, his wife complained about his generosity, but he would say, “Those who help the poor will never be destitute. The Bible teaches us to consider them parts of Christ’s body. If God allowed us to live, He will certainly provide sufficiently for us.”
When his children grew up, he told them to take over caring for the family so he could use the money from his medical practice to treat the poor. During a cholera epidemic, for example, Anton spent much money to help the poor.
But Anton did not only serve others with medical care. Rather, he was a catechist and shared his Catholic Christian faith with others. Unfortunately, during much of his adulthood, the government forbid the practice of Catholicism. Anton, however, ignored this ban. In fact, he made his home a center of the faith. He taught catechism, hid priests and religious when needed, became friends with the priests of the Paris Foreign Mission Society, organized funerals and charity activities of the Church, and did whatever he could to live the faith in an extraordinary way. His children were affected by his great faith as was his wife. His eldest daughter, for example, became a religious sister in the Lovers of the Cross order.
Anton’s activism eventually caught up with him, and he was imprisoned for two years. During that time, he was tortured on a regular basis, but he refused to give up his faith. Anton would often say, “I would rather die than deny God, even for an instant.” His family was also victimized by the government for their faith.
Anton used his medical skills to help fellow prisoners during his incarceration; as always, he put his faith into action, for this second-nature to him.
On July 10, 1840, about 100 soldiers escorted Anton and catechist Tu to the execution grounds where, five years earlier, a bishop and two priests had been martyred. After praying, Anton greeted two of his children, smoked a cigarette the one of the officials had given him, told the people to love one another and live virtuously. Then, he was strangled to death.
Anton was canonized on June 19, 1988. Saint Anton Nguyen Huu Quynh’s feast day is July 10.
