Vietnamese community celebrates feast of martyrs in new church

LAURA DODSON | FLORIDA CATHOLIC CORRESPONDENT

Thankful for their faith and proud of their cultural heritage, members of the Orlando Catholic Vietnamese community turned out to celebrate the feast of the Vietnamese Martyrs at their new church on Thanksgiving Day.

The feast day is celebrated annually at St. Philip Phan Van Minh Parish in conjunction with Thanksgiving. “This is a dual celebration in thanksgiving for God’s blessings and the faith passed on to us by our ancestors,” said Father Chau J. Nguyen, pastor. “It is always touching for me to celebrate this feast. It reminds me of the ancestors who have courageously lived their faith and hopefully causes me to recognize the uniqueness of the culture and faith of the Vietnamese Catholic Church.”

On Nov. 22, the community carried relics of the martyrs in procession and sang a litany of the saints that included the recitation of the names of all 118 Vietnamese martyrs. The day was particularly joyous, as it was the first time that the community celebrated the feast in its own church. The community renovated an existing building on Par Street and parishioners celebrated the first Mass there Sept. 29. Previously, the parish shared the facilities at St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Orlando.

Van Cat has been a parishioner for 10 years and worked long hours in the renovation of the building. “We are all very excited because we have our own new church. We have greater freedom and we love it. Everyone worked hard and we tried to do as much as we could.”