On 3 December, Saint Francisco Javier’s Day, Patron Saint of Missions, the community of sisters woke up very early at 5.30 a.m. in Chuhai house, Vietnam, and blessed the Lord for the new day, which marked the congregation’s 25th anniversary in this country. It is also the number one foundation in Asia.
The commemorative celebrations began at 7 a.m., with the opening of a magnificent exhibition, which traced the history of the congregation right from the start in 1987, when the Congregation accepted that the first sisters would form part of it, commencing the initial training process.
Afterwards, in the assembly hall, the sisters re-enacted various events for the many guests, with the art and grace for which Asia is famous. These re-enactments included the origins of the congregation, representing its Founders, Saint Benito Menni, Maria Josefa and Maria Angustias and the Hospitallers’ values. A particularly poignant moment was the charism displayed by the disabled children taking part, who according to our founding father, are living images of Jesus.
Next, Sister Anna Maria Thanh, the Congregation’s Mother Superior, welcomed everybody and thanked the many guests for coming. Afterwards she invited everyone to go to the chapel to attend the solemn Eucharist which was given by the Bishop of the Diocese, together with seven other bishops, 32 priests and two deacons. This ceremony included most notably the blessing of the new altar, which was opened as a result of this anniversary and has huge symbolic meaning.
After mass, which was sung admirably by the choir of sisters, and which brought all the guests together in song, all the participants gathered to share a typical well-loved Vietnamese meal.
At the start of the meal, Sister Andrea Calvo, General Director, gave an introductory reading, provided by Mother Superior, Sister Anabela Carneiro, which was simultaneously interpreted into Vietnamese by her representative, Sister Ana Maria Thanh.
The seed that was sewn on Vietnamese soil 25 years ago has grown far and wide. Today there are many sisters -five sites in Vietnam- and a huge desire to spread charism to other regions insofar as possible.
