He was born, it seems, in the last years of the 18th century, in Bar-Ninh, Tonkin, in what is now northern Vietnam. His father, living in extreme poverty, agreed to let a Christian catechist take the boy in exchange for a small sum. The catechist brought him to the mission of Vinh-Tri and had him baptized.
After receiving a solid Christian formation, young Andrew became a devoted catechist himself, and in 1823 he was ordained a priest. Because of his missionary work, he was imprisoned several times—once in the home of Saint Peter Thi—and ransomed with money.
In 1839, he was arrested in Hanoi and beheaded on December 21 of that same year.
Andrew Dung-Lac and other Vietnamese martyrs were canonized by Pope John Paul II on June 19, 1998.
