Following the successful visit of fellow Jesuits Giuliano Baldinotti and Julio Koga to "Đàng Ngoài" (Tonkin) in 1626, the superior André Palmeiro sent Alexandre de Rhodes and Pero Marques, Sr. to evangelize in this domain of North Vietnam. The two missionaries landed in Thanh Hoá on March 19, 1627 (the Feast of Saint Joseph) and arrived the capital Thăng Long (nowadays Hanoi) on July 2 (the Feast of Visitation). De Rhodes worked there until 1630, when he was forced to leave. During these three years he was in and around the court at Hanoi during the rule of lord Trịnh Tráng. It was during that time that he composed the "Ngắm Mùa Chay", a popular Catholic devotion to this day, meditating upon the Passion of Christ in the Vietnamese language. He was expelled from Vietnam in 1630 as Trịnh Tráng became concerned about him being a spy for the Nguyen. Rhodes in his reports said he converted more than 6,000 Vietnamese. Daily conversation in Vietnam "resembles the singing of birds", wrote Alexandre de Rhodes.