Nguyen van thuan biography

Cardinal François-Xavier Nguyên Van Thuân was born on April 17, 1928 in Phú Cam in the Archdiocese of Huê, in Central Vietnam. His parents were Nguyên Van Am and Elisabeth Ngo Thi Hiep, daughter of Ngo Dinh Kha.

He was the second of nine children; four brothers and five sisters.

Descendant of a family line with a long Catholic history, which included many martyrs among its members, Cardinal Van Thuân’s ancestors suffered for their faith during the time of Christian persecution from 1698 to 1885.

Raised in a profound Christian household, he received the precepts for an exemplary and holy life from his mother, Elisabeth.

Every evening, she would recite various biblical accounts to him, speak of the lives of the Vietnamese martyrs (in particular, the martyrs that belonged to their family line), and describe the lives of the saints, especially that of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus.

She taught him to love others and to forgive always and everyone, at the same time inst