The Vietnamese Community celebrates 40 years anniversary

In this Jubilee Year of Hope the Vietnamese parish of St. Vincent Liem is marking their 40th anniversary in the Diocese. This past week I celebrated Mass at the parish to recognize this milestone and also the Vietnamese New Year that highlights the importance of the dignity of human labour while invoking God’s blessing on the work that will be undertaken by the community in the upcoming year.

The liturgy included the cultural expression of drumming for the opening procession and the singing of the Gloria, while the choral music of the choir provided both dignity and solemnity to the Mass. The reception that followed continued this same spirit of celebration with food, cultural dances by the youth groups, singing, and families coming together in faith. 

In the Bull of Indiction for the Ordinary Jubilee Year 2025, Spes Non Confundit, “Hope does not disappoint” (Rom 5:5), Pope Francis invites us to find not only hope in God’s grace, but also to discover hope in the signs of the times by seeking to discover the immense good present in our world. He outlines several of these signs. The desire for peace in our world, for young people who desire to give birth to new sons and daughters, in the promotion of a social covenant that supports and fosters hope for the sick, the young, the elderly and grandparents. Pope Francis also calls attention to prisoners deprived of freedom, to migrants, exiles, displaced persons, and refugees who are most vulnerable. 

In the face of what migrants are currently facing around the world, these signs of hope should be present to those “who leave their homelands behind in search of a better life for their families. Their expectations must not be frustrated by prejudice and rejection. A spirit of welcome, which embraces everyone with respect for his or her dignity, should be accompanied by a sense of responsibility, lest anyone be denied the right to a dignified existence.”  (Bull of Indiction, Spes non confundit, #13).

This sign of hope has been the experience of the Vietnamese community that immigrated to Canada and Calgary with the fall of the South Vietnamese government in 1975. This resulted in thousands of refugees fleeing or escaping by boat. It was a turning point for our country of Canada, in terms of immigration. It was the first time in which the government allowed for private sponsorship. Many Catholic dioceses in the early 1980’s applied and receive the legal status from the government to become a Sponsorship Agreement Holder (SAH) for immigration. In Calgary, this began a long history which continues today through the work of Calgary Catholic Immigration Society (CCIS).  

In my homily, I referred to the fact that the people of Canada in receiving the refugees from Vietnam through the 1980’s were awarded the Nansen Medal by the United Nations (UN) for this service of hope we gave to these refugees. It remains the first and only time that a country, an entire people, were awarded such an honour and never in our history have we welcomed so many refugees in such a short period of time.
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Bishop O’Byrne at that time expressed the following words, “Each of you has had to overcome many handicaps in order to re-establish your life in the Diocese of Calgary. I cannot fully appreciate what all this means. I have not experienced the kind of up-rooting and rejection that has led to your desire to live where you can exercise and develop your faith life personally and for your families. I commend you for the many activities you have undertaken to further the spirit of love and cooperation with one another in your Catholic community. You are an example to all of us in this diocese. We are very proud that you have chosen to live with us. We see clear signs that as we adopt you, you are adopting us." (Letter to the Vietnamese Community - Bishop O’Byrne, January 1983)

In 1985, the Vietnamese community received St. Andrew’s Church from the Diocese, which was the home of an Italian immigrant community for the sum of $200,000. By 2010, the community had outgrown the church space, and in 2012, they were given approval from the Diocese to purchase and build their new 600 seat church facility. In July 2015, the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, Bishop Henry celebrated the Mass of Dedication for the new church. Now ten years later, the community has retired the building loan with the Diocese, they are without debt and have recently erected an outside shrine to Our Lady of Lavang during the time of the COVID pandemic.  
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The celebration of the 40th Anniversary Mass at the Vietnamese parish of St. Vincent Liem is a tangible sign of hope which Pope Francis desires we experience during this Jubilee Year.   

Written by Most Rev.  William T. McGrattan, Bishop of Calgary
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​Feb 2, 2025