FSSP ARRIVES IN VIETNAM-UPDATED

FSSP ESTABLISHING AN APOSTOLATE IN VIETNAM

 French priest Father Laurent Dements with the FSSP has arrived in north Vietnam and is assigned to the former Indochina for two years to see if he can establish an FSSP apostolate in the communist country. Here is an interview on how things are going:

click on the Restoring the Faith Youtube channel to watch:

https://youtu.be/iMJuSbzsPiw

UPDATE:
TODAY THE FSSP HAS PUBLISHED AN UPDATE ON THE LATEST NEWS ON THE VIETNAM ASPOSTOLATE:

Though Catholics are a minority in Vietnam, Fr. Demets explained that they are a strong minority. The churches are large and beautiful, the Masses are well-attended and seminaries and religious houses are not wanting for vocations. This in itself sometimes means that people, while not opposed to the Latin Mass, are not necessarily drawn to it, but Fr. Demets is optimistic that the numbers will grow, citing the attendance at a recent pilgrimage. This past Pentecost, Fr. Demets led 70 members of the community on pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Bãi Dâu, located on the beautiful coast southeast of Saigon. He celebrated the Mass of Pentecost at an outdoor altar adorned with tropical flowers, beneath a statue of Our Lady that looks towards the turquoise-blue sea. The Mass of the ages seemed right at home amidst the immense beauty of the place.

For a number of reasons, the Archbishop of Saigon has asked that Fr. Demets’ Masses remain private for now, but he is not opposed to Fr. Demets helping the young men in his diocese discern their vocations with the Fraternity.

And potential vocations there are. One of them is 18-year-old Thomas Nguyen, a lifelong Catholic and one of the first six members of the Confraternity of St. Peter in Vietnam. He discovered the Latin Mass as he was searching for a more reverent Mass to attend, much preferring the sacred atmosphere of the traditional liturgy. He proceeded to research orders that offered the Latin Mass, came upon the Fraternity, and began to follow various Facebook groups related to the FSSP. After a year, he rejoiced upon seeing a post that Fr. Laurent Demets was coming to Vietnam to found an apostolate.

After Mass on October 26th, 2019

On October 26th, 2019, Thomas attended his first Latin Mass, a sung Mass celebrated at a parish near Saigon whose pastor is an enthusiastic supporter of the Latin Mass and remembers serving it when he was young. For Thomas, it was not only his first time attending a Latin Mass, but also his first time serving it, having learned the ropes in one two-hour session from Fr. Demets.

“That was really special for me,” Thomas said. “Actually, really special because after 50 years, on the 26th of October, that was the first sung Mass, first public sung Mass celebrated in Vietnam 50 years after the Vatican II Council.”

Thomas is currently finishing his high school education and plans to pursue environmental engineering at a university in Finland. But after that, he aims to study for the priesthood at Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary or possibly the FSSP’s European seminary in Wigratzbad, Germany.

“I really want to come back to Vietnam to serve here,” he said.

Thomas’ hopes are strong that his fledgling community will take root, expand and possibly find its own church or chapel where he can work.

At the Shrine of Our Lady of Bãi Dâu

Both Thomas and Fr. Demets acknowledge that projects such as these take time, potentially many years, to grow into full apostolates. But neither one seems fazed by the road ahead. They both emphasize that prayer is their greatest need, and hope that those who hear of their little apostolate will pray for its success.

“Because if Our Lord wants, we can do anything,” Thomas said.

If you feel called to support the work of FSSP Vietnam materially, your donations would be much appreciated as well. You can securely donate through the FSSP’s Mission Tradition website.

You can also follow FSSP Vietnam’s Youtube channel and Facebook page for all the latest happenings.

The Pentecost pilgrims

The task of establishing a Latin Mass community in Vietnam seems monumental, but certainly, the work has been in good hands from the very beginning. Before Fr. Demets, saints such as St. Théophane, St. Andrew Dũng-Lạc and thousands of others enlightened this land with their faith and consecrated it with their blood. No doubt they watch over it still, and over the budding community that, Deo volénte, will one day blossom into the Fraternity’s first apostolate in Asia. +