Tượng Thánh Mátthêu Lê văn Gẫm (1813-1847)

Tượng Thánh Mátthêu Lê văn Gẫm (1813-1847) is a religious monument on Tôn Thất Tùng, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. The statue stands in the front courtyard of Huyện Sỹ Church near the intersection with Nguyễn Trãi Street. The monument honors Matthew Lê Văn Gẫm, a devout nineteenth-century merchant and Catholic martyr from Biên Hòa province. The figure rests atop a tall stone pedestal inside the landscaped churchyard.

Lê Văn Gẫm operated merchant cargo boats along the waterways of southern Vietnam. He secretly ferried European missionaries, local seminarians, and religious provisions into Cochinchina during the reign of Emperor Thiệu Trị. Royal patrol boats intercepted his vessel in 1846 near Cần Giờ. Authorities detained him in Saigon for several months before issuing an execution order. Imperial soldiers executed him at the nearby Da Còm execution grounds in Chợ Đũi on May 11, 1847.

Pope Leo XIII beatified Lê Văn Gẫm as a martyr in 1900. Pope John Paul II canonized him among the 117 Vietnamese Martyrs in Rome on June 19, 1988. Huyện Sỹ Church arose between 1902 and 1905 near the historical execution area. Wealthy benefactor Huyện Sỹ funded the church and established its expansive surrounding grounds. The church parish maintains the statue alongside other outdoor devotional grottos across the courtyard.

The statue portrays the saint holding a palm frond symbolizing martyrdom. An inscription plaque at the pedestal base records his name and birth and execution years. Parishioners and pilgrims gather around the monument before and after daily Catholic services. The monument remains accessible through the main gate of Huyện Sỹ Church during general parish operating hours.