Vicente Liem de la Paz

Who was Vicente Liem de la Paz?

Vicente Liem de la Paz was a Tonkinese Dominican friar venerated as a saint and martyr by the Roman Catholic Church.

He was born Phạm Hiếu Liêm at Trà Lũ village, in the phủ of Thiên Trường, Nam Định Province, Tonkin in 1732 to Christian parents, Antonio and Monica Daeon de la Cruz, members of the Tonkinese nobility. When he fell gravely ill several days after his birth, he was baptized by Fr. Chien de Santo Tomas, taking the name of Vicente Liem de la Paz. Since Trà Lũ was one of those Tonkinese villages where Dominican friars preached the Catholic faith, Liêm grew up to be a Christian. He was later brought by his parents to a missionary center where he learned catechism.

In 1738, King Philip V of Spain opened the Colegio de San Juan de Letran and the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines to Chinese and Tonkinese students, since China and Tonkin did not have Christian educational institutions. The Dominican fathers decided to let Liêm and four other Tonkinese study in the Philippines.

Vicente took the trivium and the quadrivium in Colegio de San Juan de Letran, now the equivalent of elementary and secondary education. He finished a degree of lector of humanities at Letran. He would pursue his collegiate education at the University of Santo Tomas while residing at Letran. In September 1753, after completing his studies at UST, he entered the Dominican order, along with his four Tonkinese companions. A year later, they made their solemn professions. On January 28, 1755, he received the tonsure and minor orders at the Church of Sta. Ana. In 1758 Liêm was ordained priest under the Dominican order. On September of that year, he passed the examinations to hear confessions. On October 3, he started his journey back to Tonkin. He arrived on January 20, 1759.