VIETNAM Bishop Gallagher in Hanoi, with the “living stones” of the Vietnamese Church

During the historic trip during these hours, a mass presided over by the Vatican Secretary for Relations with States was celebrated in the capital's cathedral, the most important event for the local Church since the breaking of diplomatic relations between Hanoi and the Vatican. in 1975. In the meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, he expressed the hope of “achieving other important objectives.” Expectation for the visit of Pope Francis.

Hanoi () – The Church of Vietnam is made of “living stones” whose testimony “is making a deep impression on me,” said Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Vatican Secretary for Relations with States, when addressing the faithful at the mass that he presided yesterday afternoon in Saint Joseph's Cathedral in Hanoi. The celebration was the first moment of meeting with the local Catholic community in these historic days in which, for the first time since the interruption of formal diplomatic relations in 1975, the “Minister of Foreign Affairs” of the Holy See is visiting Vietnam.

There are many expectations surrounding this trip within the framework of the important advances that have been made in recent years in relations between Hanoi and the Vatican. And as a backdrop there is also the possibility of an apostolic trip to Vietnam, about which Pope Francis himself has spoken, and the local authorities have already issued an invitation. But Bishop Gallagher's visit is in itself a moment of great importance for the 7 million Catholics living in Vietnam. And the Eucharistic celebrations that mark these days are proving it.

Numerous lay people along with priests, religious and bishops were present at the mass presided yesterday by the English prelate, who conveyed to everyone the Pope's blessing and closeness. At the altar were Bishop Joseph Vu Van Thien, archbishop of Hanoi, Bishop Marek Zalewski, resident representative of the Holy See in Vietnam since last December, and Card. Vietnamese Peter Nguyen Van Nhon, archbishop emeritus of the capital. In his greeting to Bishop Gallagher, Archbishop Vu Van Thien said he was convinced that this visit will have a positive impact on the faith life of the local Catholic community and will open a new chapter in relations between the two countries.

In the homily, the bishop of Bac Ninh, Msgr. Joseph Do Quang Khang, pointed out that through Bishop Gallagher it was the Pope himself who was present in Vietnam with a mission that is not only diplomatic, but that its central theme was the truth that “God loves the world.” . And he recalled the letter that Francis sent a few months ago to Vietnamese Catholics to affirm that the agreement with the Hanoi government on the status of the resident representative of the Holy See is an effort to “exercise charity as a measure of faith and assume the faith as the soul of all charitable gestures”.

Bishop Gallagher arrived in Hanoi on Tuesday, April 9, and that same day he met with his counterpart, Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son. According to the official statement released by the Vietnamese authorities, during the meeting Minister Son expressed his “hope that the Vietnamese Catholic community will continue to contribute positively to the development and prosperity of the country,” and praised “the positive progress” that has been recorded. in relations between Vietnam and the Vatican in recent times and which led to the arrival in Hanoi of Bishop Marek Zalewski. He promised that the Foreign Ministry, together with relevant agencies, “will create conditions for it to carry out his mission.” Archbishop Gallagher, for his part, expressed his joy in assisting the development of the Catholic Church in Vietnam and his confidence that “the Vietnamese Catholic community can make an even greater contribution to the development of the country.” The Vatican Secretary for Relations with States also hoped that cooperation between both parties would be strengthened through the Vietnam-Vatican Joint Working Group and in multilateral and international forums, and expressed confidence that “bilateral relations will continue to register important progress”. Subsequently, Bishop Gallagher met yesterday with the Vietnamese Prime Minister, Phạm Minh Chính.

This morning the prelate visited the National Children Hospital, the large pediatric hospital in Hanoi that since 2005 has maintained a collaboration program with the Ospedale Bambino Gesù in Rome, the large health center for children sponsored by the Holy See. This is one of the many examples of the contribution that the Catholic community offers to the country. Bishop Gallagher expressed his joy at the fruits of this initiative of solidarity between health centers and distributed gifts to the hospitalized children. He then made a stop at the Vietnam Ethnological Museum and paid tribute to the ancient history and culture of this country.

In the coming days, the program of activities of the representative of Pope Francis will continue with new meetings with communities from other provinces of Vietnam. Tomorrow he will be in the diocese of Hue, where the national Marian shrine of La Vang is located; On Friday the 13th he will preside over another Eucharistic celebration in the cathedral of Saigon, the great metropolis that today bears the name of Ho Chi Minh. The meeting with the entire Vietnamese Episcopal Conference is also planned here before returning to Rome.