Văn Thuận’s living memory 20 years after his death
An international symposium remembers the Vietnamese prelate, who died this day in 2022. Vietnamese living abroad took part in celebrations in Rome, one at his final resting place. Card Czerny stressed his “unshakable faith” and “unconditional love for his neighbours”. "Reports of graces continue to arrive,” noted Postulator Hilgeman, including “news of a person’s healing in Vietnam”.
Rome (AsiaNews) – Twenty years ago, on 16 September 2002, Card Phanxicô Xaviê (Francis-Xavier) Nguyễn Văn Thuận, Coadjutor Archbishop of Saigon, died in Rome.
After the fall of Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) in 1975, he spent 13 years in prison, leaving an extraordinary testimony of faith in the face of persecution, nourished by a deep spirituality.
After his release, he was called to the Vatican by John Paul II who named him president of the then Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.
To honour him and remember his legacy, the Dicastery for Integral Human Development, which replaced the Council Card Văn Thuận once chaired, organised a number of events. To this end, it was joined by the postulation of the cause of his beatification (his heroic virtues were recognised in 2017).
One of the planned events was an international symposium titled “Văn Thuận: Life, holiness and mission" held yesterday in the Pius IV Hall in Rome’s Palazzo San Callisto.
The main speakers were Fr Ambrogio Van Sy, a member of the Historical Commission of the cause who was himself ordained deacon by Card Văn Thuận himself; vice postulator Fr Marco Da Silva Luis; and Mgr Bernard Munono, who accompanied the cardinal on his travels in Africa as well as worked with him on drafting the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.
Many overseas Vietnamese – from, for example, the United States, Canada, and Spain – travelled to Rome for the occasion. Together with the city’s large Vietnamese community, they took part in two other events: a Eucharistic service held yesterday afternoon at the Church of Santa Maria della Scala, where Card Văn Thuận is buried, and a memorial Mass this morning at the Church of Santa Maria di Trastevere. Celebrations included singing and expressions of faith.
“We thank the Lord for giving us someone like Card Văn Thuận,” said Card Michael Czerny, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, as he opened the symposium. Czerny went on to highlight the late cardinal’s “testimony of unshakable faith, of meekness beyond borders, of unconditional love for his neighbours and also for his jailers."
During the many years of imprisonment, spent in a cell with no light nor window, he was "in solitude, but close to the Lord whom he met in the Eucharist and in the other prisoners and from whose encounter he drew the strength to overcome trials.
“And I cannot but think about the many Christians persecuted and killed because of their faith in today's world. The testimony of life and faith of Card Văn Thuận is a source of hope for all of us.
“I hope he can also be a source of inspiration for many young people who are living a moment of bewilderment in such difficult times, marked by the consequences of the pandemic and wars, in Ukraine and in every part of the world.
“Holiness is possible for each of us, when life is nourished by the Word of God and by the encounter with Christ in the Eucharist and in our neighbour.”
The symposium provided an opportunity for an update on the process of the cause of beatification of Card Văn Thuận. The postulator, Dr Waldery Hilgeman, explained that the search for a miracle through hir intercession is still ongoing.
"Reports of graces continue to arrive. Recently, for example, we received news of a person’s healing in Vietnam. With all the linguistic complexity of the case, medical records were translated to examine the case. But the most important thing to report is that there is a life behind this cause.
"People continue to pray to Văn Thuận and to present us with simple stories: family hardships overcome, challenging daily experiences faced in his company, etc. As a postulator I can say that it is by no means a dormant cause because it is people who keep his memory alive.”
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