Asian Catholics have paid tribute to Venerable Francis-Xavier Nguyễn Văn Thuận to mark the 50th anniversary of his spiritual writings compiled in the book The Road of Hope: The Gospel from Prison. Source: EWTN News.
To honour the legacy of the late Vietnamese prelate, whose family settled in Australia as refugees, the Vatican held the “Cardinal Văn Thuận: Witness of Hope” conference at the Apostolic Palace of the Lateran in Rome last week. The event was attended by hundreds of people including members of Cardinal Văn Thuận’s family.
While imprisoned by the communist government in Vietnam during the 1970s and 1980s, Cardinal Văn Thuận, who was coadjutor archbishop of Sài Gòn at the time, wrote a series of spiritual reflections on scraps of paper that were clandestinely sent out to persecuted Christian communities.
“These 1001 meditations [travelled] from family to family, from prison cells to prison cells, to re-education camps to re-education camps, and finally they crossed oceans with the ‘boat people’ and arrived in different countries in the world,” Cardinal Văn Thuận’s sister, Élisabeth Nguyễn Thị Thu Hồng, said at the March 25 conference.
“In a spirit of faith, joy, and gratitude, we all witness the power of God’s presence in the story of this shepherd who, while separated from his flock, remained intimately united with all of them through the word of God,” she said.
Both Cardinal Lazzaro You Heung-sik and Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle spoke at the event and shared personal stories and impressions of the prelate decreed “venerable” by Pope Francis in 2017.
Vietnamese communities abroad also paid tribute to Cardinal Văn Thuận to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his prison meditations, including from Australia — the country his family fled to as refugees in the 1970s.
Father John Nguyen, OFM Cap, the first Australian-born priest of Vietnamese heritage, said Cardinal Văn Thuận’s love for the priesthood and the Eucharist continues to be a source of inspiration for him.
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Asian Catholics pay tribute to late Vietnamese Cardinal Van Thuan (By Kristina Millare, EWTN News)
