Catholics in northern Vietnam welcomed the new auxiliary bishop of Ha Noi archdiocese, who for decades earned his living as a barber.Bishop Laurence Chu Van Minh was ordained on Dec. 5 in open-air rites at the square in front of Nam Dinh church in Nam Dinh city, 90 kilometers south of Ha Noi.
Archbishop Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet of Ha Noi presided at the ordination ceremony was, with Archbishop Etienne Nguyen Nhu The of Hue and former Auxiliary Bishop Paul Le Dac Trong of Ha Noi assisting.
Bishop Trong, 90, who is based at the church following his retirement three years ago, has provided spiritual and material support for Bishop Minh, who regards the elderly prelate as a "father."
About 20 other bishops including Cardinal Jean Baptiste Pham Minh Man of Ho Chi Minh City also were present as well as 400 priests and 10,000 others including Catholic Religious and laity, followers of other faiths and representatives of foreign embassies. Many people had to stand on surrounding streets, since the square could not hold the crowd.
Bishop Minh's ordination was the third episcopal ordination since a Vatican team made a working visit to Vietnam in June. Jesuit Bishop Cosme Hoang Van Dat of Bac Ninh was ordained on Oct. 7 and Auxiliary Bishop Pierre Nguyen Van Kham of Ho Chi Minh City on Nov. 15. Vatican officials discuss episcopal nominations with government representatives during the annual visits.
Dominic Nguyen Phong Thang, a Nam Dinh parishioner, told UCA News: "I am very respectful and proud of the new bishop, who was faithful to his vocation while spending 32 years making a living as barber at a local market." He recalled that the new bishop "loved poor children like me and offered us free haircuts."
The 32 years covered the time from when the Ha Noi seminary Bishop Minh studied in was closed by the government in 1960 until he was able to resume his formation in 1992 with a two-year "refresher" course.
Thang, 53, noted that Bishop Minh's family is well-off, but he used the money he earned during that time to cover his daily expenses and help the poor. Besides barbering, he also earned money by carrying water from water stations for others in the days when people had to get their water this way. He stayed at his family's house and helped parish priests with pastoral work in the mornings and evenings, the businessman recalled.
The new bishop leads a simple life but is energetic and dynamic and loves poor people, which helped him overcome challenges during hard times, Thang said.
Born on Dec. 27, 1943 in Nam Dinh parish, Bishop Minh studied at St. John Minor Seminary in Ha Noi from 1956 to 1960. After living back in Nam Dinh for 32 years, he attended a two-year philosophical and theological refresher course at Ha Noi-based Saint Joseph Major Seminary.He was ordained a priest on June 10, 1994, and served in his home parish before leaving in 1995 to study dogmatic theology at Pontifical Urban University in Rome, where he received a doctoral degree in 2000.
After returning to Vietnam, he taught at the Ha Noi major seminary and then served as rector until Pope Benedict XVI named him auxiliary bishop of Ha Noi on Oct. 15.
Bishop Minh's episcopal motto is "Serving in Love."
Marie Nguyen Thi Nguyet, 80, a local Catholic who worked with the bishop for 30 years in the Nam Dinh parish, told UCA News the ceremony was evidence of how God loves the local church.
Fifth-year seminarian Dominic Nguyen Thanh Cong said: "We seminarians are proud of Bishop Minh, who loves us very much. We have learned ways of living a simple life and persevering in priestly vocation from him." In spite of the bishop's age, he does weightlifting and plays other sports every day, Cong added.
Bishop Pierre Nguyen Van Nhon, head of the Vietnam Bishops' Conference, welcomed Bishop Minh into the conference and expressed the hoped he would work with fellow bishops for local Catholics' happiness and prosperity.
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(Source: UCAN)