The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Vietnam will gather at the Tàpao Marian Center on Nov. 13 for the formal closing of the diocesan inquiry into the beatification and canonization cause of Servant of God Pierre Lambert de la Motte.
Bishop Joseph Đỗ Mạnh Hùng of Phan Thiết announced the event Oct. 13 at the end of a Mass during the diocese’s October pilgrimage to the Marian shrine in Lâm Đồng.
The bishop said the Vietnamese bishops would attend the ceremony marking the close of the diocesan inquiry and urged priests, religious, members of Catholic associations, and laypeople to take part in the pilgrimage.
The announcement came during a two-day gathering that drew more than 1,500 members of associations of the faithful from the Diocese of Phan Thiết, along with thousands of other pilgrims.
The Oct. 12-13 pilgrimage, held during the month of the Rosary and in celebration of Mary, Mother of Mercy, included a Marian procession, the recitation of the Rosary and Eucharistic adoration.
Bishop Hùng presided over the main Mass on Oct. 13 with Vicar General Father John Baptist Trần Văn Thuyết, Father Peter Trần Thanh Bình, who oversees diocesan associations of the faithful, and about 50 priests from within and outside the diocese.
At the start of the Mass, the bishop spoke of the worries, struggles, and suffering carried by pilgrims who came to Tàpao.
“Today, in the light of the Word of God, we together carry out three steps of the synodal process: encounter, listening, and discernment. We gather to encounter God and one another, listen to God’s voice through the Scripture readings, and discern His will so that we may know how to bring God’s mercy to those who are suffering and lonely in society today,” he said.
In his homily, Bishop Hùng reflected on illness, conflict and wounds within families and society, and urged Catholics to place their trust in God’s mercy through the intercession of Mary.
He called on the faithful to seek support from their communities in times of difficulty rather than endure hardship alone, and to make Catholic associations places that welcome and accompany people in need.
Reflecting on Mary at the wedding feast at Cana, the bishop urged Catholics to become more attentive to the needs of others and respond with concrete acts of compassion.
“We can sum up God’s guidance in the following words: ‘Receive God’s mercy, and with Mary recognize and support those who are suffering.’ When we return home today, each of us should choose to do one small act of charity: a word of concern, an embrace of reconciliation, or a gesture that eases the pain of someone living beside us,” he said.
The pilgrimage began on the evening of Oct. 12 with devotional activities and a prayer program titled “Rosary – Prayer of Hope,” presented by Angelo Band and the Thiên Ca Choir of Tân Định Parish in the Archdiocese of Saigon.
