Vietnamese Catholics mark the anniversary of the death of Card. Văn Thuận

The anniversary of his death remembered in Rome and at home. On the 16th of each month, the parish of Giang Xá celebrates mass for the Cardinal’s canonization process. Giang Xá Parish is known as the place where Cardinal Văn Thuận was under house arrest for four years from 1978 to 1982.

Hanoi (AsiaNews) - The 18th anniversary of the death of venerable Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyễn Văn Thuận (pictured) was commemorated in Rome and at home.

In Rome on 18 September in the church of Santa Maria in Trastevere, Cardinal Kevin Farrel, Prefect of the Discastery for the laity, family and life, celebrated the mass, during which Cardinal Peter Turkson, Prefect of the Department for Integral human development, gave the homily.

In Vietnam, millions of Catholics, in communion with the Holy See, have prayed for the victims of the Covid-19 epidemic around the world. Thanks to the intercession of the venerable Cardinal Francis Xavier, God has accepted our prayers.

To show the love of Catholics for the venerable Cardinal Van Thuan, on the 16th of each month, the parish of Giang Xá celebrates mass for the Cardinal's canonization process. Giang Xá Parish is a small and ancient parish. It is located about 20 km from downtown Hanoi in Trạm Trôi, Hoài Đức and is known as the place where Cardinal Văn Thuận was under house arrest for four years from 1978 to 1982.

Many faithful believe that Giang Xa parish is the "home of Cardinal Francis Xavier". Every month, many people gather here to pray for the peace of family and society.

Many chronically ill people came here with faith in God's mercy. And through the intercession of Venerable Cardinal Francis Xavier, these patients quickly regained physical and mental peace.

Many people said: “We are very happy when we came to Giang Xá parish. This place is like the home of the venerable Cardinal Xavier Nguyễn Văn Thuận. We look at lovely relics, the botanical garden, the ancient church, listening to the sound of slowly falling leaves and the singing of birds. We also have joy and hope when we find moments of peace and guidance for our problems, through the sacrament of confession ".

The Road of Hope is one of the works that Cardinal Francis Xavier wrote in prison. In this book, he said, "I have only the best moment of the present moment, living in full of God’s Love. My life will be beautiful if this is crystallized by the best of every moment." (The Road of Hope, p. 997).