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| Saint John-Louis Bonnard, Pray for us ! |
⛪ Other Names : Giovanni Ludovico Bonnard
⛪ Born :
• 1 March 1824 at Saint Christot-en-Jarret, Loire, France
⛪ Died :
• Beheaded on 1 May 1852 at Tonkin, Indo-China (modern Vietnam) • Body thrown into the river, but immediately recovered by local Christians • Interred in the college of Vinhtri • His blood-covered garments, links of his chains, his hair and his beard were kept by heathen soldiers and sold to Christians
BONNARD Jean-Louis was born in Saint-Christo-en-Jarret (Loire), on March 1, 1824. After studying at the Major Seminary in Lyon, he entered the Seminary of Foreign Missions on November 4, 1846. He was ordained a priest on December 23 1848, and left for Western Tonkin on February 8, 1849. He arrived on a mission in the midst of the persecution of Tu-duc. He was first in charge of the parishes of Ke-bang and Ke-trinh, then in 1852 he passed into the Christianity of Boi-xuyen. He was then denounced, arrested, and taken to Nam-dinh. Sentenced to death for preaching the Catholic faith, he was beheaded downstream from Nam-dinh on May 1, 1852. He was canonized on June 19, 1988.
Painting - The martyrdom of Father Jean-Louis Bonnard Huong on May 1, 1852 at Vinh Tri
The painting is 1,070m in height and 1,789m wide. Its painted on a cardboard made of thin fabric.
After the execution: At the bottom, right corner, the picture presents far away from a public building, near the cathedral is a group of soldiers holding swords. The superintendent rides on the back of an elephant with a group of wooden guards standing nearby.
Father Bonnard's execution day in Nam Dinh:
Catholics were in a large crowd. The officers took 500 soldiers to escort and had to move the execution site to Dan Thuy beach, about a mile and a half from Nam Dinh citadel. A group of lay people are seen sitting at the corner of the painting. The executioner slashed his father's head with a single slash. In the painting, he still stood against the sword. Four soldiers carrying the Martyrs body, another took his head and walked towards the two boats, blood dripping down on the ground (The book, page 347-348 recounts that, according to the custom, the death penalty is to be buried at the execution site, but since they do not want to let the devotees respect the martyr, the bureaucrats have given the land. Blood-stained, the corpses were carried in two large boats to be thrown into the river. The corpse of the saint was placed in a boat with many soldiers following him, the official was on the second boat. They took food for three days, then sailed down the river.
A small boat carrying a deacon and a preceptor wandered ahead to observe. That night, many fishing boats of the believers in the vicinity also followed them. Around eight nine o'clock at night, it was dark, and two large boats swept back and forth a few times and sailed up the river. Believers have identified the position, a young man diving into the riverbed and touching the martyr's body.
Not far from two large boats, the painting showcases four small boats of the parishioners who are taking the corpse from the riverbed at a depth of about 25 feet, or about 7.5 meters.
Burial rituals: The body of the martyr was immediately taken to the Vinh Tri colony (At that time Vinh Tri was also the headquarters of Tay Dang Ngo diocese, was clothed in ceremonies and placed in a chapel with a bright torch light. as we see in the main part of the painting, it was about 1 Am on May 2, 1852. The teachers of Vinh Tri village and the monks came to pay homage to the martyr's body. Pure Land, a monk professor, wears a white shirt standing right near the corpse of the martyr.
At the bottom of the painting, a group of women crossed the colony fence to see the corpse of the martyr, but a teacher wearing a brown shirt and a whip was chasing them.
The Martyr's body was gathered there until the evening of the following day, Bishop Retord Lieu, with a missionary, a Vietnamese priest and teachers came to celebrate the burial rite. In the painting, Father Retord Lieu and his entourage are coming from the right to enter the chapel.
