Biography
Francis Đỗ Văn Chiểu
About Francis Đỗ Văn Chiểu
Francis Đỗ Văn Chiểu was a Vietnamese catechist born in Trung Lễ in the Nam Định region around 1797. He served alongside the Dominican bishop Dominic Henares during a period of persecution under Emperor Minh Mạng. The Vatican lists him as a catechist among the canonized Vietnamese martyrs, rather than as a priest. Sources also render his name Chiêu or Chieu; these are variant spellings of the same person.
Diocesan accounts describe Chiểu’s close work with Henares and their arrest together in 1838. They were condemned for Christian ministry and killed in Nam Định. The sources disagree on whether Chiểu’s death fell on 25 or 26 June: the Holy See and national bishops’ list say 25 June, while a Vietnamese diocesan commemoration uses 26 June. The structured record preserves June 1838 without imposing one disputed day.
Leo XIII beatified Chiểu in 1900, and John Paul II canonized him with the Vietnamese martyrs in 1988. The Diocese of Hưng Hóa commemorates him with Henares on 26 June, while the martyrs of Vietnam share a wider collective celebration. His role as a local catechist belongs to his individual record; stories of the bishop’s actions should not be substituted for his own.
Wondering how to weigh the stories and sources? Learn how to read a saint biography.