Bishop Van Thuân's profound mystical experience with Mary

The Venerable Francis-Xavier Nguyên Van Thuân (1928-2002) is a model of magnificent Eucharistic and Marian spirituality, the fruit of his profound mystical experience in prison. Arrested on August 15, 1975, he spent over 13 years in prison, including 9 years in solitary confinement, until his release on November 21,1988.

For him, the two feasts of the Assumption and Presentation of Mary had great significance and shed light on this dramatic period of his life.  Indeed, with Mary, Van Thuân lived a profound mystical experience, with the Eucharist at its center, in all its dimensions of sacrifice, Real Presence, communion, and adoration.

Born in Hué on April 27, 1928, into a Catholic mandarin family that played a key role in Vietnamese independence, Francis-Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan was ordained a priest in June 1953. He was a nephew of South Vietnam's first president, and of Archbishop Ngô Đình Thục. Shortly after this ordination to the priesthood, he was miraculously healed of an incurable form of tuberculosis, which left him with little hope of survival or doomed him to permanent disability.

During a pilgrimage to Lourdes, he had a premonition that, like many of his ancestors, he was about to face great trials and even martyrdom. Noticed by the Vatican, he was appointed Bishop of Nha Trang in 1967, and while he showed great organizational skills in his role as pastor, he also drew the attention of the Communists, whose victory he knew was inevitable.

After the collapse of South Vietnam in April 1975, Pope Paul VI made him coadjutor to the Archbishop of Saigon, a choice that the authorities deemed unacceptable and led to his arrest on August 15. Twelve years of captivity followed, during which Bishop Van Thuan was transferred from one prison or camp to another, sometimes in total isolation and subjected to sensory deprivations comparable to torture. Forcibly drugged, he resisted, bolstered by his faith and the words of Christ that showed him the way to turn this nightmare into a grace for the Church and for himself.

On November 21, 1988, Bishop Thuan was unexpectedly taken to see the Minister of the Interior, who ordered his immediate release, to the surprise of all around him.  He was personally convinced that he owed his release to Our Lady, and in fact she later gave him proof of her intervention. Nevertheless, he remained under surveillance, which finally convinced John Paul II, concerned for the life of his bishop, to call him to Rome and appoint him vice-president, then president, of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. Thuan became a cardinal in 2001, and died of cancer in Rome on September 16, 2002. Pope Francis named him as Venerable on 4 May 2017.

Adapted from: fr.zenit.org and from: 1000raisonsdecroire.mariedenazareth.com