Melchor García Sampedro de Quirós (+1858)

Biography

For a time, persecution eased in his area, and Fray Melchor was able to devote himself to the tasks of evangelization. He even edited texts in the Vietnamese language and achieved the affection and veneration of missionaries and faithful. In 1854 the persecution intensified, and as Bishop José María Díaz Sanjurjo was the most threatened, it was necessary to choose a coadjutor bishop to help him and succeed him if he were arrested, since the community should not be left without a shepherd in that tribulation. The unanimous designation fell to Fray Melchor and he accepted it, knowing that this was equivalent to signing his death sentence, as finally happened. He was captured along with two young Christians, caged and mistreated, and died from the blows of several executioners' axes. His persecutors believed that such cruelty would eliminate all his followers. The persecution lasted several years, with no less than 30,000 faithful dying as martyrs. The sacrifice of Melchior and the other martyrs moved thousands of people to embrace the faith that was capable of nourishing such kindness and patience. The relics of Saint Melchior were collected by the faithful and taken years later to Asturias, where they rest in the city of Oviedo. He was declared a saint on June 19, 1988.