Table of Contents
Phaolô Lê Bảo Tịnh
Priest
1793 - 1857
Feast day: April 6
#Priest
From hermit to martyr
Starting as a hermit, ending as a martyr. The two images seem different from each other. But for St. Paul Le Bao Tinh, the important thing was not the image, not the lifestyle, but FAITH: God is everything. Lifestyles can change but faith is the essential foundation. It was that faith that guided Paul Tinh's life, from a hermit to a zealous missionary priest, a dedicated professor and finally to the glorious crown of martyrdom.
The wilderness and the mission
Paul Le Bao Tinh was born in 1793 in Trinh Ha village, Hoang Hoa district, Ha Trung prefecture, Thanh Hoa province, the third child in a Catholic family. At the age of 12 he went to live with Fr. Due of Bach Bat, after three years he was sent by the priest to study at Vinh Tri seminary (Nam Dinh). In the seminary he was an exemplary seminarian. His intelligence was ordinary but he was much more diligent than his fellow seminarians in spirituality, mortification, he fasted on Fridays, scourged himself and slept on the floor. The tendency to live ascetically was the first step leading to Tinh's intention to become a hermit.
It can be said that Le Bao Tinh was a man who loved God to the utmost. He was determined to dedicate his life to God. He chose God and expressed it completely. That is why he stockpiled dried rice, secretly left the seminary and went deep into the wilderness to have the opportunity to pray and unite closely with God through the harsh life in solitude.
However, not everyone has the right to live a virtuous life according to their own will. When God invites people to cooperate with Him in His work of redemption, it is He who arranges the work for them. That is why Bishop Longer Gia ordered the priests in the diocese: "If Fr. Tinh comes to confess, no priest has the right to absolve him, he must be told to see the Bishop immediately." And the virtuous hermit found God's will through the Bishop. After getting used to the deep forest for a year, now he had to leave to take on new sacrifices, new works that the Church needed from him.
The Laotian missionary
To prepare for greater works, the Bishop had Fr. Tinh continue his theology studies, take on minor orders, while continuing to teach. Bishop Havard Du, Bishop Gia’s successor, sent him to Macao to receive funding for the diocese. Two trips in two years, and two narrow escapes from pirates and storms.
In 1837, the Bishop launched a missionary program in Laos, and Fr. Tinh enthusiastically set off. After a year of successful work, he returned to the diocese to ask the Bishop to send more missionaries. But the situation in the country had changed. Implementing the order of King Tu Duc and Governor Trinh Quang Khanh at that time to fiercely suppress Catholics. Frs. Mai Nam, Trum Dich, Ly My were arrested and martyred, Vinh Tri seminary had to close, Bishop Du had to go into hiding and died on July 5, 1838. Bishop Cao was martyred before he could take up his duties. Therefore, the missionary delegation in Laos had to stop and return home, preparing to take on new tasks.
Imprisoned for the first time and exiled.
Bishop Retord Liêu, Bishop Du's successor, sent Fr. Tinh to teach catechism to new converts in Thach To village, Bich Tri parish, Ha Nam province. In late 1841, the village chief of Thach To ambushed and caught Fr. Tinh. The faithful brought money to the mandarin to ransom the priest, but the priest staunchly told the mandarin: "If it was only money for my release then I do not want that."
So Fr. Tinh was taken to the Chief magistrate of Ha Nam, then to Hanoi. Wherever the frail man went, dressed simply, always barefoot, his neck in cangues but his soul upright and resolute. The ferocious mandarins could not subdue him. They could only sentence him to death in the capital. But fortunately, when Tu Duc ascended the throne, the hostile atmosphere against the Catholic faith eased. His case was submitted to the capital for execution six times, all six times it was not approved, until the seventh time it was commuted to life exile in Phu Yen (Binh Dinh).
On the way to exile, the man of slight stature but strong spirit constantly demonstrated his steadfast loyalty to the truth of the faith he was following. He strongly protested when people called it “leftist Christianity”, at the same time explaining his religion to the people.
The exile period did not last long before Tu Duc passed away (4-11-1847). Emperor Tự Đức ascended the throne and granted amnesty, releasing prisoners. Returning to the diocese amidst immense joy of many people, Fr. Tinh obeyed the Bishop and received priestly ordination, when he was already 56 years old. About a year later, the new priest was appointed director and professor of Vinh Tri seminary. Thanks to having previously cured the eye disease of the Superintendent of Nam Dinh Nguyen Dinh Hung, the director was able to obtain permission for the seminary to operate semi-publicly, in the form of a school teaching Chinese and medicine.
Portrait of Fr. Paul Tinh
At first glance one could see that Paul Tinh was a gaunt, emaciated, tall priest with a pious demeanor and an ascetic life. But only those who met him realized that he was a priest full of charity, simplicity, wisdom, experience. Perhaps the ups and downs along with his rather advanced age when he took on the priesthood, influenced his zealous apostolate. He made the most of every moment, just to achieve the maximum benefit. In the years as rector of Vinh Tri seminary with so much work, yet the director still found time to write. We can list the works of the priest:
Commentary on the Gospels
General Catechism
And Six Questions of Conscience: containing advice to help avoid mortal sin and prepare for a good death.
In guiding seminarians, he often advised them to maintain discipline, for he himself had profound experience: Discipline is the benefactor that helps express the love of God, supporting religious life. On the other hand, he also focused on training seminarians in the life of prayer. According to him a missionary who does not value prayer, his preaching will not be persuasive. Although no longer directly caring for the faithful at this time, Fr. Tinh was very diligent in hearing confessions, helping souls reconcile with God. Another aspect of Fr. Paul Tinh's life was his love for the Cross. Wherever he had lived, the shadow of the Cross could be seen. Later, when he was arrested, the mandarins saw that he had too many Crosses, and joked with each other: "This old man is addicted to the Cross."
That's right, it was not that he was "addicted" to the Cross by erecting crosses everywhere, but because of his veneration for the Passion of Christ, while also desiring to live the life of the Cross, hoping to contribute to the blood of the Most Holy Master that was shed to redeem the world. That love was expressed through his very frugal lifestyle, both as a hermit priest and as seminary director. His daily meal was a few bowls of rice with a bit of fish sauce and a dish of vegetables. He often slept on the floor, rarely agreeing to sleep in a bed. His body wasted away, but inside still contained a vigorous soul, an acute mind.
He lived frugally to the point of forgetting himself, yet cared for others. He often visited, comforted, administered the sacraments, helped the poor, especially patients with incurable diseases like leprosy. It can be said that Fr. Le Bao Tinh was martyred even in his life, before actually having the privilege of shedding blood for his steadfast faith.
Arrested for the second time
In 1857, two priests Ky and Hao returned to organize ceremonies at the Phát Diệm church. On this occasion, apart from Mass there were also solemn processions. This noisy incident was falsely reported to the Ninh Binh mandarin that: "The Catholic elders were gathering troops". The soldiers immediately came to Phát Diệm to arrest people, but the two priests Ky and Hao had already returned to Vĩnh Trị, so they sent a letter asking the Nam Đinh chief to arrest those two priests. Superintendent Nguyen Dinh Hung of Nam Dinh still remembered his debt of gratitude to Fr. Le Bao Tinh (the benefactor who had cured his eyes), so he tried to prevent it but failed. The arrest operation was scheduled for February 27, 1857 under the command of the Nghĩa Hưng district chief.
Meanwhile, the superintendent had someone inform Fr. Tinh at Vĩnh Trị, but because that person fell seriously ill and could not go to inform, things continued normally at the Vĩnh Trị seminary when the soldiers surrounded the village. After a few minutes of consultation, Bishop Lieu and the priests agreed to flee, leaving only Fr. Tinh behind to deal with the situation, hoping to avoid destruction. Fr. Tinh calmly invited Chief Nghĩa Hưng and Judge Trứ inside for a drink, then presented the permit from the Superintendent. However, because there were many “forbidden national” items in the house such as Latin books, vestments and many other items sent from abroad, the chief drew up a record, and asked Fr. Tinh to go to the province for further investigation.
Before leaving, Fr. Tinh went into the chapel to pray and bid farewell to the seminarians, his most beloved children. Bishop Lieu tried to ransom Fr. Tinh back before he was taken to the province, but was unsuccessful. The bishop immediately had someone inform the Superintendent to ask him to arrange it. The next day, Judge Trứ escorted Fr. Tinh to the province. The permit that the Superintendent had given Fr. Tinh put him in a difficult position. The other mandarins thought he had received quite a large bribe...
The Superintendent was in an awkward situation. He knew very well the life and background of Fr. Tinh, yet it was the Chief of Thuong Hung himself who interrogated the priest. In court, the mandarin did not ask anything, he only asked the priest to apostatize and he would be released. But how could Fr. Tinh accept that proposal?
Five days later, Fr. Tinh was again brought before the court. The same question and the same steadfast heart. When ordered to rewrite his biography, he still affirmed that he was a priest. Chief Thuong Hung advised him not to write that, just to declare that he was a layperson who specialized in teaching Chinese and medicine, which might help him escape the death penalty. In response, he thanked the mandarin for his kindness, but maintained his statement because he considered it a great honor. He was willing to endure everything for that honor. The last time, Chief Thuong Hung tried to save his benefactor. With his own hand he wrote the sentence and added at the bottom:
"Considering that Le Bao Tinh is already over 60 years old, according to the law of the country, those of such an elderly age should not be executed, I request that he be imprisoned in Nam Dinh which would be most convenient."
My soul belongs to God.
While waiting for the king's reply on the sentence, Fr. Tinh was imprisoned at Trai Ve. For him, the 37 days living there was an opportunity for him to strengthen the faith of the weaker brethren, to try to provide them with spiritual sustenance as well as material assistance. Thanks to that, they were more courageous in witnessing for God in the most sorrowful moments. As for him, this was the final opportunity to prepare to be worthy of the great privilege of martyrdom that he longed for. He steadily prepared for that moment with daily prayer and meditation. While strengthening courage in others, he also strengthened his own heart. During these days, he could not forget his beloved children at Vĩnh Trị seminary. Before being sentenced 12 days later, he wrote them a very touching and spiritually profound letter.
On April 5, 1857 the verdict arrived at the province. The most anxious person was the Superintendent. The king had commuted the prison sentence to a death sentence by beheading. Upon receiving the verdict, the Chief made one last attempt by persuading Fr. Tinh to apostatize. But how could he accept that? His whole life was dedicated to God, his whole life longed for this great privilege, now about to be fulfilled, how could he abandon it? He gently replied to the mandarin:
"I sincerely thank you, sir, for always trying to save me. My body is in your hands, feel free to torment it as you wish, I am very happy to do so, I have no resentment. It will die but one day it will live again in glory. As for my soul, it belongs to God, nothing can make me sacrifice it, no one can shake my faith. The religion of God is the true religion, the true faith, I have loved and kept that religion since I was small, and even if I die I cannot abandon it."
The defiant words stemmed from a truly brave and wise decision. The decision to defiantly choose death, firmly believing that he would live forever (Jn 12:25).
That blessing, Fr. Paul Le Bao Tinh attained on April 6, 1857 at the Bảy Mẫu execution ground (Nam Đinh) with these parting words to the people: “Dear brethren, stay in peace, persevere in keeping the faith and be courageous and steadfast, do not be afraid of death.”
Pope Pius X beatified Fr. Paul Le Bao Tinh on May 2, 1909. On June 19, 1988, Pope John Paul II canonized him.