Diem Dien parish, from Van Don, Thai Thuy county joyfully welcomes Bishop Peter – the pastor of the diocese – to visit and preside over the Thanksgiving Mass and cut the ribbon to inaugurate the new church of the diocese.
Attending today’s Mass, besides Bishop Peter presiding, there were also the presence of parish priest Joseph, Monsignor Jerome – Vicar General of the Diocese – parish priests, esteemed fathers, more than 20 priests in the Church. department, together with the men and women religious, the seminarians and many guests, their inter-parliamentary communities.
Diem Dien Church is located in the heart of Diem Dien town, Thai Thuy district, close to Hai Phong Diocese. The church received the seed of the Gospel quite early (about 1861). According to the remaining documents, at the time when Christianity was being severely banned, there was a Catholic family who came here to do business and live, to avoid the decree “Phan Sap” dated August 5, 1861 of King Tu Duc. Thanks to God’s grace and providence, that seed of faith spread throughout the region through the Pham, Nguyen and Vu clans… from which the Diem Dien sect was formed. At first, this parish belonged to Ninh Cu parish (Ke He), but after Van Don parish was established (1928), Diem Dien was merged into this country.
In 1948, Diem Dien Church was destroyed by war bombs, the church was severely damaged. In particular, after the 1954 event, the parishioners had to be separated, leaving only a very small number of parishioners, along with the difficulties of the times, they were unable to maintain the church. The Church seems to be falling apart. It was not until 2002, half a century later, with the consent of Bishop Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Sang – may the Diocese bishop – parish priest Joseph Pham Van Thien, together with the parishioners here restored back to the church of the Church. After 6 years of hard work, together with the enthusiastic help of people inside and outside the Diocese, especially the children who are far away from home and abroad, who wholeheartedly help, The church reclaimed the old land and laid the first stone to rebuild the church on March 31, 2008. In the expectation and anticipation of the parishioners at home as well as in the South and abroad, the church, the faith work of the Congregation today was officially inaugurated. That joy was multiplied even more, when on this great day, the parish community was honored to welcome Bishop Peter, the pastor of the diocese, to preside over the ribbon-cutting ceremony and celebrate Mass. Thanksgiving.
In his sharing before the Mass, Bishop Peter expressed his appreciation for the generosity and steadfastness in the faith of his children in the Church. The evidence is that the church is small, but currently, it has contributed 3 priests to God’s mission field (one serving in Can Tho Diocese, one in Lang Son Diocese and one serving in the Diocese of Lang Son). overseas service). In addition, there are also three blessed martyrs that are Dominic Lich, Dominic Canh and Peter Mui who are buried right on the right side of the church.
In the homily at Mass, the Bishop emphasized gratitude and thanksgiving to God. He said: Over the course of history, more than 50 years without a Catholic rite in the Church and more than 20 years without a church, scattered parishioners have gathered and built a church. sure and spacious like this, it is a great miracle that God has generously blessed the church community. The celebrant also commended the parishioners here who have sacrificed, worked hard, from money, effort, … to get this work of faith. On this occasion, Bishop Peter also congratulated the Church, thanked the benefactors, relatives and everyone who generously contributed to the construction of the House of God.
Before the bishop gave the solemn blessing, the representative of the church leaders thanked and gave flowers to congratulate the bishop on the feast day of the two apostles Peter and Paul – his patron saints. Finally, the Bishop and the priests took souvenir photos with the church.
Source: Collected internet.