On the Fourth Sunday of Easter, 21st April 2024, 83 young people were baptized, and 12 of them received the sacrament of confirmation at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City. Fr. Peter Dinh Ngoc Lam, the superior and the Parish Priest, presided over the Holy Mass and Fr. Joseph Nguyen Hong Phuoc, the Assistant Parish Priest, concelebrated and assisted during the celebration.
One of the renowned centres for teaching Sacraments of Initiation is located at the Redemptorist Monastery in Ho Chi Minh City, situated at 38 Ky Dong, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City. Every year, thousands of people come here to study catechism, mostly young individuals learning about the faith to receive the sacrament of matrimony, but also many people who want to join the Church because of a personal experience with God. For example, one person survived three suicide attempts and then felt that some divine being had saved her, so she wanted to accept the faith. An ambulance driver witnessed the strong faith of a mother praying for her child on the way to the hospital, and that child survived a critical condition, being saved, so he accepted the existence of a true God. He came to the centre to study the Christian faith. There are many other stories that attract numerous people to the Monastery of the Redemptorist in Saigon to study the faith.
The program is designed with 6 different sessions occurring in the same week. Each class meets two days a week, each day around one and a half hours studying. And every two weeks, there is an opening for a new class. With such a busy schedule, it aims to meet the needs of a variety of people. Even if they are busy with work or study, they can still find a suitable class for themselves.
Part of what makes this catechetical class famous is its quality teaching and presentations. Mostly priests and brothers of the Redemptorist Monastery in Saigon carry out the program. Additionally, there are enthusiastic lay volunteers to teach and support the courses. Without these collaborative efforts, there would certainly not be as good results as today.
In 2023 alone, there were 22 courses with 2083 participants. Thanks be to God for the positive results of this catechetical class. Hopefully, more and more people will come to know God through this centre because of the smaller number of Catholic individuals, with 7% in Vietnam.
Anthony Nam
