Shrine blessed at Our Lady of Vilna

By Tanya Connor  | The Catholic Free Press  

WORCESTER – A shrine that has been drawing parishioners and neighbors to prayer was finally blessed Sunday by Bishop McManus. 

Parishioners started building the shrine of the Blessed Mother of Grace on the front lawn of Our Lady of Vilna Church on July 5, 2019, Father Tam M. Bui, pastor, told The Catholic Free Press. But the pandemic hit, delaying the bishop’s blessing of the shrine.  

The statue of Mary, which stands atop large boulders, was made in Vietnam and donated by a family in the parish, Father Bui said. (The former Lithuanian parish now serves primarily Vietnamese Catholics.) 

A Catholic in Leominster donated the boulders from his yard, Father Bui said. He said a non-Catholic Vietnamese man who respects the Blessed Mother moved the stones with equipment from his construction business. 

“You do that for her (the Blessed Mother), she will bless you,” Father Bui told the non-Catholic. 

The pastor said that equipment for fountains – for warmer seasons – was placed at the Marian shrine and the shrine of St. Andrew Dung-Lac opposite it. He said the statue of St. Andrew was brought from St. John Church in Worcester, where the Vietnamese community formerly worshipped.  

The bishop’s blessing of the Marian shrine and placing incense at St. Andrew’s shrine Sunday was scheduled for the parish’s celebration of the Nov. 24 feast of St. Andrew and companions, commonly called the Vietnamese martyrs. In 1988 Pope John Paul II canonized these 117 people, who were killed between 1820 and 1862. 

The shrines were finished a couple years ago, but, because of the coronavirus, plans for Bishop McManus’ blessing were put on hold. Father Bui said he himself did a simple blessing while waiting for the bishop’s solemn blessing so people would feel it was appropriate to pray there.  

“Every day people stop to pray,” Father Bui said. Some are not parishioners; they are neighbors. They talk to the Blessed Mother and take pictures of her statue. Parishioners too stop at the shrines when they come to Mass. 

“I am grateful and very, very blessed to have the bishop come this year – and all the priests,” Father Bui said, in reference to several priests concelebrating the Mass. “They bring us the unity” of the Church. And the bishop shows his pastoral care, especially for the Vietnamese Catholics, by coming. 

“Indeed it is my joy and my privilege” to celebrate the Eucharist and the deep faith of parishioners, faith rooted in the blood of the Vietnamese martyrs, Bishop McManus said at the Mass. “I am proud to say I am your bishop.” 

Father Stephen M. Gemme, guest homilist, who is a chaplain at St. Vincent Hospital, preached about the martyrs. He said that from 1580 to 1888, Vietnam had more than 130,000 martyrs from different walks of life, including the 117 canonized in 1988. 

“The majority of the martyrs were people just like you and me, people who worked hard each day,” he said. In the state’s eyes, their crime was that they would not relinquish their love for Jesus. They were tortured, and branded with the words “sinister religion.”  

Father Gemme spoke about the call to “put our faith into action” and said that Bishop McManus, priests and laity from Our Lady of Vilna have prayed outside the Planned Parenthood abortion facility in Worcester. 

“You and I are called to challenge the culture of death with a culture of life,” he said. “The community here at Our Lady of Vilna, living your Catholic faith, you shine as a light for others to follow. … 

“You and I have to be prepared to go out into the world and challenge human suffering with the compassion of Christ. And, if necessary, be prepared to give our lives … 

Weapons for this battle include the rosary, the chaplet of Divine Mercy, the Scriptures, and the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, he said.