At 7 p.m. on October 23, 2024, following a solemn procession, the Thanksgiving Mass—culminating the 2024 Migrant Festival—was presided over by Cardinal Peter Nguyen Van Nhon, former Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Hanoi, with the concelebration of Fr. Dominic Nguyen Duc Thong, Provincial Superior of the Redemptorist Province of Vietnam, along with council advisors, Redemptorist priests and priests from the Diocese of Thai Binh.
Additional attendees included Redemptorist brothers from Thai Ha, as well as sisters from various congregations, including the Lovers of the Holy Cross of Hanoi, Lovers of the Holy Cross of Tan Lap, the Dominican Sisters of Bui Chu, and the Our Lady the Queen of the Missions, thousands of parishioners from within and beyond the Hanoi Catholic Migrant Family. This grand occasion provided an opportunity for the Hanoi Catholic Migrant Family to express gratitude to God for another pastoral year dedicated to serving migrants.
This year’s festival theme, “Remain in My Love,” invited all Christians, even those living far from their homeland, to stay closely united with God, the Church, and their home country.
In his homily, Cardinal Peter Nguyen Van Nhon shared insights with the migrant community on the role of migrants within God’s plan of salvation. He affirmed that, even when living far from their homeland, migrants are never distant from God, as they are always called to live within His love and salvation.
He emphasized, “Migrants are an integral part of the Church, regardless of wealth or social class. The Church must accompany migrants, journeying together toward our heavenly homeland.” The Cardinal encouraged the migrant community to view life away from home as a special vocation -a mission to witness faith in foreign lands. Through the presence of migrants, our Church, particularly the Thai Ha parish, grows and flourishes in God’s love.
Source: Hanoi Migrants Communications Committee,
Translated by Fr. Anthony Nam Nguyen CSsR.
