Joachim and Anne were the parents of Jesus’ mother, Mary. We don’t know many details about their lives because they are never mentioned in the New Testament. Everything we know about them comes down through tradition—the stories people told about them.
Jesuit missionaries came to Andrew’s Vietnam village to preach the Gospel in 1640, when he was 15 or 16. Andrew began to study with the priests so that he could understand what it meant to be a follower of Christ. He was baptized later that year and was eager to begin sharing his faith.
Titus came from a Catholic family in the Netherlands that actively encouraged the children to serve the Lord. Three of Titus’ sisters became nuns, and a brother became a Franciscan priest. Titus was ordained a Carmelite priest in 1905, when he was 24 years old.
When he was 29 and fighting against the French who were attacking Pamplona, a cannonball shattered his leg. Ignatius spent a year in bed recovering from his wounds. When he was 30, Ignatius turned from working as a soldier to working as a missionary for God.
Feast Day: July 6
Canonized: October 14, 2018
Beatified: September 27, 1992
Venerated: September 1, 1988
Though he lived a short life, Andrew of Phú Yen was an amazing witness for Christ to the people of Vietnam.