The population of the Dominican Family in Vietnam has reached to that of a medium-sized diocese. The “shocking” good news has been announced by the Order’s Provincial in Vietnam.

“The number of friars, nuns, sisters, and lay Dominicans in our family in Vietnam has increased substantially and already reached to the population of a diocese!” announced the proud Vietnam Dominican Provincial, Fr. Joseph Ngo Si Dinh, prompting thunderous applauses of attendants at the 2009 Dominicans’ Traditional Family Day held on Nov. 7 at St. Dominic Church (popularly known as ‘The Three-Bell Tower Church’) in Saigon, Vietnam.

“While the number of our members is still far from that of Saigon or Xuan Loc dioceses, it’s comparable to that of Da Nang or Hue,” he added, reporting that the Order now has 150 friars, and the number of nuns and sisters has steadily increased at the rate of 200 annually.

The main factor contributing to the fast grow of the order is the involvement of Lay Dominicans (known as Third Order Dominicans). It is reported that there can be up to 103,000 professed Lay Dominicans in the communist country.

Lay Dominicans in Vietnam reportedly not withdraw from their parishes, but involve even more actively in the liturgical and pastoral parish activities. They have their daily prayers from the Dominican prayer book in their parish churches. Their formation is also supported by local parish priests and diocesan bishops who recognize the importance of Lay Dominicans in the parish and diocese life. The effective cooperation - not only within different branches of the Dominican Family but also with diocesan structures - has been seen by many as the decisive factor for the rapid growth of the order under harsh conditions.

The presence of the Dominicans in Vietnam could be traced back to 1676 when Fathers John of the Holy Cross and John de Arjona, arrived in Vietnam. In spite of mishaps and persecutions, the Dominican missions developed surprisingly well. In 1702, Father Raymond Lezoli was consecrated the first Dominican Bishop of Vietnam. From the very beginning, the Dominicans of Vietnam encouraged the recruitment and formation of native clergy, diocesan and religious. The more capable ones were sent to Manila for their studies.

Vietnam Catholic Church history reports that during a period of 261 years, from 1625 to 1886, 53 "Edicts of Persecution of Christians" were signed by the Trinh, the Nguyen Lords and the Kings of Nguyen dynasty, one worse than the previous one. During that time, there were approximately 130,000 Christians were being victimized by these persecutions which were widespread all over the country.

In 1745, many Christians lost their lives, including Fathers Francis Gil de Federich and Matthew Alonso Liciniana, who were the first Dominican martyrs in Vietnam. Again in 1773, other Dominicans were martyred.

Among 117 Vietnamese martyrs (96 Vietnamese and 21 foreign missionaries) that the Church honors on November 24 every year, 60 of them were Dominicans. 27 of them were beatified by Pope Leo XIII on May 27, 1900. They were either beheaded, suffocated, burnt alive, mutilated, or died in prison as a result of torture in the period of 1838-1851. Six year later, on May 20, 1906, Pope Pius X beatified another group of 8 Dominicans who were martyred in the years 1745, 1773 and 1861. On April 29, 1951, Pope Pius XII beatified for the third group of 25 Dominicans who died for their faith during the years 1857-1862.

All three groups of martyrs were canonized by John-Paul II on June 19, 1988.

In the 19th century, the Church suffered the worst persecutions under the kingdom of Minh Mang (1820-1840), the “Nero of Indochina”. In the last century and upto now, under the communist regime, it has suffered even more.

Most Dominican communities in the North Vietnam joined the massive refugee trek southward when the communists took over the North in 1957. Those who chose to remain had lived under extremely harsh condition set by the atheist regime. They were treated as second-class citizens, being subjected to constant harassment from public officials and non Catholics. A large number of Dominicans lost their lives and as a result Dominican communities ceased to exist.

In the South, the order continued to flourish. As the fruit of the sweat and hardship of many Dominican missionaries, in 1967, an autonomous Vietnamese Province called “Queen of Martyrs Province” was formed.

Unfortunately, soon after the communist takeover of South Vietnam in 1975, schools, social services centers, and the formation houses of Vietnamese Dominicans were seized. All foreign Dominicans were expelled. Most native Dominicans survived by working on local farms and their religious lifestyle had to be adjusted to the harsh living conditions. Many lost their lives under such conditions, while others returned to their families.

Under such conditions, the order struggled to exist. It has succeeded and continued to flourish in Vietnam. Also, outside the country, Vietnamese Dominicans, who for different reasons had been abroad and scattered over many countries outside Vietnam in order to safeguard their Dominican vocation and to support their brothers and sisters at home in their difficult time, formed overseas communities including a regional vicariate based in Calgary, Canada. These Vietnamese Dominican communities have actively been involving in the Church life at many Western countries.