Van was imbued with a deep love of Our Lady from the very beginnings of his life in a devout Vietnamese Catholic family. He tells us this charming story in his Autobiography:

The Blessed Virgin, in coming early to possess my heart, brought with her at the same time her little Jesus to unite himself very closely to my soul. At that time I did not yet know to give him the name of Baby Jesus or Little Jesus. I simply called him, in my own fashion, Jesus Child. I learned to love Jesus Child at the same time as the Virgin Mary because each time that my mother told me story about the Holy Family she would also include a lot of stories about Jesus Child. I could also see a picture of him about to be fed at this mother’s breast. This picture was in my maternal grandmother’s house. My mother used to show it to me, saying “There is the baby Jesus of whom I have spoken so often to you.” Thus, the image of Jesus Child was imprinted in my mind, and my only wish was to possess one to carry in my arms.

Luckily for me, my uncle (Chú Kim) came back from the town one day and he gave me a very nice puppet and a set of mechanical toys, amongst which was a little motor car with just enough room to accommodate my puppet. I was very pleased and immediately gave to my puppet the respectful name of Jesus Child. I played with it all day and even at night I could not bear to be separated from it.^[5]

Van continues his recitation:

My soul, whilst enjoying the beauties of nature, was also tasting the sweetness of spiritual joys. I can say that I lived with the Blessed Virgin always beside me. She covered me with her motherly protection, inspired me with a love for the peaceful lives of the saints, encouraged me to turn increasingly towards her and removed from my soul and feeling of sadness.^[6]

The life of little Van became very unpleasant shortly after he was sent to live in a rectory which functioned as a kind of minor seminary. Van was initially admired and treated well by the parish priest, a rather tragic character who later abused him terribly along with members of his staff. From this dreadful place of vice Van escaped twice and was severely reprimanded by his parents who were blind to his real situation and then beaten by his father who had become an alcoholic and a gambler after the family property had been destroyed by flooding caused by typhoons. He wrote

Who was left to have a little pity for me? This total desertion [by my family] made me look to heaven. I raised my tearful eyes to the picture of Our Lady and invoked her aid, hoping that she would come to my aid or, at least, give me enough courage to put up with, that night, the blows from the cane. In fact, after raising my eyes to this good, heavenly mother, these deplorable events became sweet to endure.^[7]

Eventually little Van would find his way into a Dominican minor seminary for a period of peace and stability as he prepared for the priesthood. He wanted to become a priest, but the Lord had other plans for him as he would eventually learn from a dream in which Saint Alphonsus de Liguori appeared to him^[8] and from Saint Thérèse who quite literally was to become his companion. He had prayed to Our Lady to guide him in choosing the life of a saint to read and his finger arrived at the Story of a Soul, the autobiography of Saint Thérèse. Shortly after he had begun reading it, was deeply touched and the following morning he prayed thus to Our Lady:

Blessed Virgin my Mother, today is truly the first day that I have been given to taste such a sweet happiness; the day which introduces me to a new way. I feel that God loves me, and because he loves me, he has called me to follow him on the path to perfection. Oh Mother, his love is truly an infinite love, and in view of such love I do not know what words to use to express my gratitude to him nor what heart to offer him which is capable of a love which responds to his Love. Let me come to you with my poor heart, to place it in your hands so that you can offer it to the Holy Trinity. You know well that the worthy offering that I give to the Blessed Trinity is none other than the Love of God, but to hold this Love of God I have nothing but my poor heart. From now onwards, my Mother, guide me in my new way, teach me to love God perfectly and to offer myself to him with total confidence. I dare again to express a wish to you: that I may be wrapped in your love as was, formerly, Thérèse, your white-as-snow little flower. I even wish you to give me this saint as my guide in her “little way”. Oh, what happiness then for me! since I feel that my life cannot free itself from the feelings of childhood that God has engraved in my soul as an innate gift.^[9]

 This is an extraordinary prayer coming from the lips of a fourteen-year-old. It manifests an extraordinary grasp of the ways of the spiritual life. He places his heart in Mary’s hands so that she may offer it to the Most Holy Trinity. It is effectively an act of consecration to Our Lady. He also asks a favor that will be granted beyond his imaginings.
Van would go on to state:

Truly, never in my life have I met a book which was so well adapted to my thinking and feelings is The Story of a Soul. I can confess that the story of Thérèse’s soul is the story of my soul, and that Thérèse’s soul is my very own. It is also from this time that I felt the need to be familiar with her as a little brother with a big sister.^[10]

Now Van had already been greatly maltreated and Thérèse had, if anything, been coddled in her youth, but Van could see beyond that to what really made them soul-mates. And it was not long before Thérèse manifested herself to him by way of locutions and taught him about his mission of continuing her work in the world was his guide to the end of his days.^[11] The story of their relationship is a truly remarkable one, which space does not allow us to pursue here. We must simply note well that it all came about through Mary’s motherly mediation.
After another traumatic rejection, this time by a Dominican priest, Van was once again left seemingly without resources and with nowhere to go thus he prayed to Our Lady:

Oh Mother, how my heart suffers! …Nevertheless dear Mother, I abandon myself entirely to you. With you, I dare to say I will go right to the end, and I am very determined to gain the victory … Oh Mary, receive my heart: and from now onwards, I beg you never to distance yourself from me, because in your glance is the strength which will lead me to victory. You are still, O Mother, my protective rampart, the remedy for my injuries, and the nurse whose hands are always busy bandaging the wounds of my heart and wiping away its tears. O Mary, all I can do is keep my eyes fixed always on you, and confide myself to your protection.^[12]

Once again we notice a magnificent act of consecration to Our Lady from the fifteen-year-old Van: “dear Mother, I abandon myself entirely to you … Oh Mary, receive my heart.” Thus prepared, Van would gain entrance to the Redemptorists, but not without some rebuffs and obstacles, which he accepted with joy.
When the Communists took over North Vietnam in July of 1954 Marcel Van volunteered to go there where further suffering and imprisonment awaited him. He died from exhaustion, tuberculosis and beriberi on July 10, 1959 at the age of 31 years. In December 1949, he had already written to his superiors: “Who can know the power of love, who can know the sweetness… there will come a day when I will die, but I will die consumed by love”. Here we have barely scratched the surface of the story of this marvelous soul, the little brother of Saint Thérèse, but first the loving son of Mary.

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