NHA TRANG (UCAN): On April 15, some 25 archbishops and bishops of Vietnam concelebrated a special at Christ the King Cathedral, Nha Trang, in Mass to mark the 350th anniversary of French Bishop Pierre Lambert de la Motte’s first pastoral visit to parishes in the diocese. On 6 September 2020, Bishop Joseph Vo Duc Minh inaugurated a jubilee year to mark the event (Sunday Examiner, 20 September 2020).
Bishop Minh led the celebration which was joined by hundreds of priests and attended by hundreds of people.
Bishop de la Motte’s visit in September 1671 laid the foundations for the local Church’s development.
The bishops present were also in Nha Trang for their twice-a-year meeting, and also offered their congratulations ot Bishop Vo on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his priestly ordination.
Peter Cardinal Nguyen Van Nhon, the former archbishop of Hanoi, told the gathering that Bishop de la Motte, the first bishop of the vicariate of Dang Trong (Cochinchine), which was established in 1659 and covered southern Vietnam, was accompanied by some priests from Siam (now Thailand) and secretly landed at the now Cho Moi Parish on the evening of 1 September 1671, at a time when Catholics faced severe religious persecution.
Cardinal Nguyen said the late bishop’s first visit “built sound foundations for the organised missionary work of the local Church later on our nation.” His work was like seeds that are sown on the ground and decayed to bear fruit.
The 83-year-old cardinal said the local Church now has 27 dioceses and 9,000 members Lovers of the Holy Cross congregation, set up by Bishop de la Motte in December 1671, serving in the country and abroad.
Cardinal Nguyen said the late bishop’s first visit ‘built sound foundations for the organised missionary work of the local Church later on our nation.’ His work was like seeds that are sown on the ground and decayed to bear fruit.
Archbishop Nguyen said Vietnam’s bishops are accelerating the canonisation causeof Bishop de la Motte and Bishop Francois Pallu of the Vicariate of Dang Ngoai (Tonkin) to show the local Church’s heartfelt gratitude. Archbishop Joseph Vu Van Thien of Hanoi and Bishop Joseph Do Manh Hung of Phan Thiet have been assigned to handle the case.
Cardinal Nguyen urged Catholics across the country to make positive contributions to the cause though prayer and by collecting solid evidence of two bishops’ and their work as witnesses.
The cardinal also called on the faithful to pray for Bishop Vo, noting that he knew him well as they have been close friends for nearly 70 years since they were in their home city of Da Lat. The bishop, an expert in the Scriptures who headed the Episcopal Commission on the Bible of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Vietnam from 2010 to 2019, devotes himself to teaching and spreading the Bible.
The 76-year-old Bishop Vo recounted that when he was eight years old, he was inspired by St. Teresa of the Infant Jesus.
When he was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Da Lat in 1971, the late Bishop Simon Hoa Nguyen Van Hien reminded him that “God chose you so you must choose him. Your happiness belongs to God and the Church. You should remember my motto: We preach Christ crucified.”
Bishop Vo said his predecessor, the late Bishop Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan, who was imprisoned in northern Vietnam for 13 years, nine of them in solitary confinement, told him: “Don’t fear. God be always with you. You should follow the shining examples of foreign missionaries and martyrs in Vietnam, and the path of the cross leads to the path of hope. You should be consistent in faith. I bless and pray for you. I love and believe in you.”
