NHA TRANG (UCAN): Bishop Joseph Vo Duc Minh of the coastal city of Nha Trang, Vietnam, launched a jubilee year at Cho Moi Church on September 6, to mark the 350th anniversary of Bishop Pierre Lambert de la Motte’s first pastoral visit to local parishes.
Some 40 priests including a representative from the Paris Foreign Missions Society (MEP) joined the special Mass attended by 1,000 people. Local authorities lifted Covid-19 coronavirus social distancing measures on September 5.
“We are happy to be in the land where our ancestors blissfully received Bishop de la Motte. God chose the land to receive the apostolic successor,” Bishop Vo told the congregation.
The bishop remarked that Bishop de la Motte was the first bishop of the Dang Trong (Cochinchine) Vicariate which was established in 1659 and covered southern Vietnam, including Nha Trang.
He was accompanied by two foreign missionaries and two Vietnamese priests from Siam (Thailand) and arrived at Lam Tuyen fishing village, now Cho Moi Parish, on the evening of 1 September 1671, at a time when Catholics faced severe religious persecution.
People flocked to meet the French bishop and asked him to bless them. He administered confirmation to 200 children and some adults while the visiting priests heard confessions from the faithful.
Bishop de la Motte established Lam Tuyen Parish and assigned Father Gulielmo Mahot to head it He established the Lovers of the Holy Cross congregation for local women and delegation also paid visits to other parishes in the area.
The 76-year-old Bishop Vu said foreign missionaries came only to be present among their ancestors, offered pastoral care and blessed them and their land.
“Catholicism only loves and tends to all people in the name of Jesus Christ, our only saviour,” he said.
The bishop urged the faithful to show deep gratitude to those who sacrificed themselves to transfer and nourish and the seeds of faith in hard times.
He said they should be proud of their ancestors who were absolutely faithful to the Church, maintained religious lives, enjoyed strong faith and bravely bore witness to the Good News.
“We should love, help, listen to, work with and live in harmony with one another and welcome all initiatives to develop the blessed land and bring good things to our society,” he said.
Bishop Vu said Vietnam’s bishops had assigned him to prepare documents for Bishop de la Motte’s sainthood cause.
The Diocese of Nha Trang was established in 1957 and covers the provinces of Khanh Hoa and Ninh Thuan, home to 115 parishes served by nearly 300 priests. Cho Moi, home to many martyrs, and has over 3,000 parishioners.
