Marcel Van (March 15,ễnTânVă 1928 – July 10, 1959), or Marcel Nguyễn Tân Văn, was a Vietnamese Redemptorist brother. During his life, he reported receiving locutions and visions from Thérèse of Lisieux, Jesus Christ, and the Blessed Virgin Mary. He is called "The Apostle of Love", continuing the teachings of Therese of Lisieux's "Little Way." He died in a North Vietnam internment camp, and his cause for beatification was opened in 1997 by archbishop Nguyễn Văn Thuận.
Biography
Early childhood (1928-1935) Born to a devout Catholic family in Ngam Giao, a village in northern Vietnam, Van was baptized under the patronage of Saint Joachim. During his childhood, he was joyful and mischievous. As early as the age of three, he often expressed a desire to become a saint. When his sister Anne-Marie Tê was born in 1932, his family sent him to live with his aunt, since they considered his excessive displays of affection dangerous for the newborn child. He returned to live with his parents two years later at age six.
Since Van then wanted to make his First Communion, his pastor allowed him to begin his catechism. Despite his young age, Van made his First Holy Communion six months later, as he had been well prepared by his mother. On that day, he asked the Lord for two graces: To keep his heart pure so that he could love Him with all his heart. To give all men and women a perfect and rock solid faith.
Rectory at Huu-Bang (1935–1941) Expressing a strong desire to become a priest, in May 1935 his mother took Van to live with the priest Joseph Nha in the rectory of Huu-Bang, where he would receive special preparation for the priesthood. Such arrangements were common in Vietnam during that time period, and several other boys lived with Van. But what should have been a time of joy, in fact was a period of great difficulties. As at Ngam Giao, Van had permission to receive Holy Communion every day. This brought about admiration from his comrades, but eventually made some of the adult catechists jealous. One of them, Master Vinh, made his life particularly difficult. He tormented Van severely, allowing him to receiving Holy communion only days when he agreed to be beaten, depriving him of food, and preventing him from reciting his rosary. The pastor was unaware of all this. Van courageously resisted, attributing his strength to his devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. "Thanks to her", he writes, "The devil was never able to win." Eventually, the catechist was punished by the pastor for misbehavior and left the rectory.
In 1936, when Van was eight, two typhoons struck the region in quick succession, causing famine and destroying his family's farm. They fell into deep poverty and were unable to financially support his education. He was then forced to become a servant at the rectory, and put to the side his preparation for the priesthood. The pastor exploited him as a slave. After Van obtained his primary school education at 12 years old, Nha definitively stopped his formation.
Due to these severe difficulties, and seeing that he would no longer receive training to become a priest, Van escaped. He wandered around for some time, was temporarily homeless, and eventually was able to return to his family. His time there was also difficult, since they thought that he was guilty of bad behavior, and such rumors had been circulated in the village. Nha eventually visited his family, declaring him innocent of any wrong, and Van eventually agreed to return to work at the rectory of Huu-Bang. But this time, he started with the other boys a resistance league to improve the spiritual poverty that had settled there, and encourage each other in the practice of virtue.
Minor seminary (1942-1943) In 1942, at age 13 Van entered the minor seminary of Lan-Song, which was under the responsibility of Dominican friars. But after only six months of studies, it was closed and occupied by the Japanese military. Van then continued his studies at the rectory of St. Thérèse's parish in Qang Uyên, under Maillet, a Dominican missionary. In the summer of 1942, it was there that he discovered Therese of Lisieux's autobiography, the Story of a Soul, which was a turning point in his spiritual life. Indeed, Van had felt in his heart for a long time an ardent desire to become a saint, but knew his own weakness. He knew that holiness through harsh penances and exercises would be impossible for him to achieve. Therese's book showed him that holiness is possible even for the little ones, and from then on she was his spiritual sister.