By Ann M. Augherton
Herald Managing Editor
(From the issue of 8/19/04)

Not only was the interior of the small brick church standing room only, the overflow crowd that watched the Mass on a television screen in the church lobby spilled out onto the sidewalk, just barely under cover from last Saturday’s steady rain.

The 25th anniversary Mass for Holy Martyrs of Vietnam Church in Arlington, celebrated by Bishop Paul S. Loverde, was a momentous occasion and the crowd was symbolic of the vast growth of the first Vietnamese parish in the United States.

"How fitting that we gather and give thanks 25 years later for the planting, nurturing and harvesting of Catholic faith in this parish," Bishop Loverde said. "We give thanks for our ancestors in the faith who were the founders of this parish: parents, grandparents, relatives and neighbors."

The diocesan Vietnamese community first began meeting in 1975, with Masses celebrated at various locations in Arlington, Alexandria and Falls Church, until a church building on Annandale Road was purchased in 1979 and the parish became official. Six years later, the church on Wakefield Street in Arlington became the new home.

Twenty-five years and once face-lift later, the parish is bursting at the seams, both inside and out.

Bui Huu Thu, president of the parish council and an original parishioner, said there were 25 families when the parish began. Now there are 1,750 families.

Thu took the opportunity during Saturday’s Mass to point out to the bishop that the church was full. "We are scrounging up every square foot around the church," Thu told the HERALD.

The parish met ???0 percent of its goal in the recent Capital Campaign, and Thu calls that a way of "showing our gratitude to the diocese since the very beginning, helping us get our parish."

But he added that the parish needs more help.

The recent renovation began last fall and finished just weeks prior to the anniversary celebration. According to Thu, hundreds of volunteers worked 12-hour shifts, and some even around the clock, to cover the concrete walls with dry wall, refinish the pews, paint the walls white and install new stations of the cross and windows, to give the church a whole new look. The large mural of Jesus surrounded by the Martyrs of Vietnam, installed in 1986, still serves as the focal point for the church. Outside, several parking spaces were carved out of the parish property, and a large iron fence was installed around the perimeter to cut down on the people cutting through and loitering on parish property at night.

Thu said the volunteers, who saved the parish significant money, ranged from the young to an 80-year-old man who stayed at a room in the church and went home on weekends. The work gave the parishioners "a feeling of ownership," Thu said. "We really spruced up the image of the church."

The church came alive on Saturday as members of the parish senior group arrived in colorful Vietnamese garb and the choir broke into melodic Vietnamese songs. There was a palpable sense of devotion, as the littlest of the parishioners would dash across the back of the church, only to pause at the center aisle and bow in reverence toward the altar.

Archbishop Stefano Nguyen Nhu The of the Archdiocese of Hue in Vietnam was a special guest for the evening Mass, along with several Vietnamese priests, many affiliated with the diocese. The newest priest for the Arlington diocese, Father Augustine Minh Hai Tran, was also present. Although born in Vietnam, Father Tran grew up in Springfield. He is the first Vietnamese priest ordained for the diocese. His parents are members of Holy Martyrs Parish. Since the parish is a national parish, any Vietnamese in the diocese can become a member, according to Thu.

Another first is a television program broadcast from a studio in the basement of the parish education building. The original hope was to have a satellite broadcast, but that was cost prohibitive, so the parish program is now web cast with the help of 18 volunteers. This week’s program features an interview with Bishop Loverde. The video streaming — at www.rc.net/arlington/cttdvn — will include weekly local news, a Mass for shut-ins, people discussing their faith journey, the history of the Catholic Church, as well as entertainment and activities in Vietnamese.

Thu said that the program is the first of its kind in the East for a Vietnamese community and can be accessed around the world.

Because both the pastor, Father John Baptist Vuong Duc Nguyen, and parochial vicar, Father John Baptist Minh B. Doan, are Dominicans, there has been a surge in parishioners joining the lay Dominicans. With 58 people being accepted into the novitiate last week, the parish total is 70 members.

Thu said that in the past 25 years the biggest change to the parish has been its growth.
"The spirit is strong, the church is full and we are bulging with the number of organizations," he said. There are 16 groups and seven choirs in the parish. The senior citizen group has 100 members.

Because of all the diverse parish activities, Thu said there is something for everyone and that keeps them coming back to the parish, whether it’s the young professional adults, the Scouts or the Blue Army. The parish day care center welcomes children of all races and ethnicities.

Father Minh B. Doan said the Saturday vigil Mass is very crowded during the school year because it is timed to allow the parish youth to attend religious education or Vietnamese language classes. He said Sunday’s 10 a.m. Mass, one of four Masses on Sunday, is the most popular and the parking lot is packed.

The 118 martyrs for which the parish is named were canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1988.

Despite the crowded Masses, and the sparse parking, the Vietnamese community celebrated the 25^th anniversary of what is truly "their parish," and as Thu said, "we’ve been blessed."