Vietnamese express gratitude: Catholic community put down roots in Worcester 40 years ago

By Tanya Connor | The Catholic Free Press

WORCESTER – The Vietnamese Catholic community here honored the bishops – and was honored by them – Sunday, Nov. 19,  at a Mass and reception at Our Lady of Vilna Parish.
The community was celebrating its 40th anniversary and the feast of St. Andrew Dung-Lac and companions (117 Vietnamese martyrs).
Starting the community in 1977 at St. John Parish were Father Anthony Dai, now deceased; Venerini Sister Theresa Khen Doan, who attended Sunday’s celebration, and about four families, those involved said.
Tu Huynh, Our Lady of Vilna’s pastoral council chairman, said he was an altar boy for Father Dai in Vietnam. Father Dai escaped just before South Vietnam fell to the communists in 1975, he said. A former teacher of Father Dai’s who’d joined the Trappists in Spencer helped him come to Worcester, according to The Catholic Free Press reports.
Father Dai celebrated Mass in a house before the Vietnamese moved to St. John’s, said Father Peter Tam M. Bui. He said now 1,000 people attend weekend Masses at Our Lady of Vilna, where he is pastor.
Father Dai died in 1995, and Father Phuong Van Nguyen served the Vietnamese at St. John’s. They outgrew that space, and in 2001 he oversaw their move to Our Lady of Vilna, where he also served the small Lithuanian congregation. (He died unexpectedly in 2004 and Father Bui succeeded him.)
Speaking with The Catholic Free Press, Bishop McManus praised the Lithuanians for welcoming the Vietnamese, thus saving the parish.
    Lithuanians still involved were seated at the head table at the reception, along with Bishop McManus, Bishop Reilly and other clergy, some of whom formerly served at St. John’s.
    “I was completely edified by the participation of the people,” Bishop McManus told The Catholic Free Press, noting that Vatican Council II called for their full participation in liturgy. “It was extraordinary … the whole congregation singing the Gloria” – and the creed. “The church was packed – all ages. … The hospitality” – feeding everyone. “It was a real experience of Christian community.”
At Mass Bishop McManus thanked the Vietnamese for their gift of faith, noting that Catholics in Vietnam suffered much persecution, and recalling Father Bui’s statement in his homily that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.
“You have been a reminder to us American Catholics … we have had it very easy,” the bishop said.
In a printed English version of his homily, which he preached in Vietnamese, Father Bui said the 117 whose feast is Nov. 24 were among more than 130,000 martyrs in Vietnam. (Sister Theresa, who is related to one of the 117, joined Father Dai in leading a pilgrimage to their canonization in 1988, according to The Catholic Free Press reports.)
“The majority … were just people like us,” Father Bui said. “But only one crime they committed … they believed in God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And so, they were treated with horrible horror.” But that did not deter them. (Relics of nine of the martyrs were carried in procession into Mass, Father Bui noted.)
“We are inheriting the legacy … of our holy martyrs,” he told the congregation, which included people from outside the diocese. “We are called … to be faithful to God and his Church, accept sacrifices to witness God’s love and his salvation. We are called to live in harmony, justice, respect the truth, to love and to serve one another.”
Father Bui expressed gratitude for Bishop Flanagan, who welcomed refugees to the diocese, for St. John’s accepting the Vietnamese and for everyone who helped the community grow. Bishop Harrington received Father Dai into the diocese, he said.
Bishop Reilly let them move to Our Lady of Vilna, where the Lithuanians welcomed them, Father Bui said. From then on, with this convenient place and Bishop McManus’ care, the community has constantly grown, he said.
The bishops were also honored at other points in the celebration.
A welcome at the beginning of Mass expressed gratitude for all the support the diocese has given the community through them. All three (including Bishop Rueger, who was not present) were mentioned in the Mass program, and Bishop McManus was named on a banner leading into the church hall.
Bishop Reilly couldn’t get out of the hall after dinner – not without people crowding around, kissing his ring and taking photos with him. He smiled and offered his blessing.
When The Catholic Free Press asked Joseph and Bay Ngo, through translators, about the community’s early days, Mr. Ngo seemed most interested in expressing thanks for Bishop Reilly letting them have their own community at Our Lady of Vilna.
At Mass Sunday Bishop McManus presented an Apostolic Blessing from Pope Francis.    
Flowers decorated the worship space, some arranged in a boat to represent the Church, and the community’s journey in faith, Father Bui said. Other flowers formed the number 40, or Vietnamese words to thank God.
At the reception there was a traditional lion dance. Youth and adults took turns singing, and youth did a skit about choosing faith when tempted to sin.
Several people captured on their cell phones duets by Khanh Ly, whom Father Bui said is a famous professional singer from Vietnam War days, and Quang Thanh, the young singer who joined her.  



Photos by TANYA CONNOR | CFP
Young women and girls dance to proclaim God’s grace at a special Mass Sunday at Our Lady of Vilna Parish. The Vietnamese Catholic community in Worcester was celebrating its 40th anniversary and the feast of 117 Vietnamese martyrs.  Above, Marie Loan Dang, leader of the St. Monica Catholic Women’s Organization, embraces parish secretary Virginia Shilalie, from the Lithuanian community, and Venerini Sister Theresa Khen Doan, who helped start the Vietnamese community.