Saint Michael Hồ Đình Hy of Vietnam

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Michael Hồ Đình Hy (胡廷僖; 1808 – May 22, 1857) was a Vietnamese mandarin official who was martyred for his Roman Catholic belief during the persecutions by Emperor Tự Đức.

He was canonized in 1988 along with another 116 Vietnamese Martyrs

He was born to Christian parents in North Cochin-China, and was by profession a wealthy silk trader. After his remaining son died at the age of 12, Michael Hồ Đình Hy declined to have his elder son returned home, according to Confucian traditions, citing he could not protect his own faith. During his years at the king's post, he performed many charitable acts to local unfortunates and helped to transport French and Portuguese missionaries on the waterways through his region under the guise of official business. His quick thinking helped the missionaries to travel through Vietnam discreetly and safely. The memoirs wrote that he personally traded his official robe as payment when the ship that transported the bishop of Society of Foreign Missions of Paris accidentally caused damages to a local merchant ship. He also offered clemency to robbers of the Royal silk mill, when they were captured. He was entrusted to guard missionaries' written records. These activities were illegal, as Christian missionary activity had been banned by the Nguyen Dynasty. He did not practice the faith publicly until late in life, becoming protector of the Christian community, which irked his fellow mandarins.

At the king's decree, Hồ Đình Hy was beheaded after suffering public humiliation, and all of his possessions were confiscated by the local magistrates