John-Baptiste Nguyá» n Phúc Bá»Âu ÃÂá»Âng (1912 â February 4, 1968) was a Vietnamese Catholic priest from the city of Huế. He was murdered by the Viá»Ât Cá»Âng during the Huế massacre, which took place during the Tết Offensive of the Vietnam War.
Born as a prince of the Nguyá» n dynasty, Bá»Âu ÃÂá»Âng was a parish priest in a village to the east of Huế. He was a great-grandson of emperor Minh Mạng, while his father was the minister of interior during the reign of Bảo ÃÂại. During the Vietnam War, as his area was inhabited by many Viá»Ât Cá»Âng, he worked to stay on good terms with both them and the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. In 1967, he reportedly invited Viá»Ât Cá»Âng guerrillas and South Vietnamese soldiers to sit together for Christmas dinner. He accepted sewing machines for his parishioners from the United States Agency for International Development.
On 30 January 1968âÂÂthe first day of the Tết OffensiveâÂÂViá»Ât Cá»Âng guerrillas detained Bá»Âu ÃÂá»Âng and took him to a nearby pagoda for questioning, but later released him after accepting a passionate appeal by the elders of his parish. Five days later, the Viá»Ât Cá»Âng returned and searched his rectory. Seizing his binoculars, camera, typewriter, and a picture of North Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh, the guerrillas took Bá»Âu ÃÂá»Âng and two seminarians away. His corpse was found in Lðáng Viên on 8 November 1969, about to the northeast of Huế. The bodies of two other Catholic priests were in the same grave. This location contained a series of mass graves, with a total of 20 bodies.
In his eyeglass case were three letters. One was addressed to his parents and another to his siblings and cousins. The third letter was to his parishioners: