Tuan Ngo was 17 years old when he fled Vietnam
in 1984. He left his mother and father in his homeland and joined his siblings
in the United States. When he arrived, he spoke almost no English. But he was
able to worship in his own language at Holy Martyrs of Vietnam Church.
“I never expected that I would settle in
an area with a Vietnamese-speaking church,” said Ngo. “I consider (myself) very
blessed to be here and able to go to church and able to speak my language.
That’s how I feel close to God, when I speak in my mother tongue.”
Ngo and hundreds of other parishioners
gathered at the Arlington church to celebrate the community’s 40th anniversary
as a parish Sept. 15. During the Mass, Bishop Michael F. Burbidge installed
Dominican Father Joseph An Quoc Dang as pastor. In his homily, Bishop Burbidge
encouraged the community to rejoice, remember and renew.
“We rejoice today in the many blessings
God has showered upon the community for 40 years and how the Lord has sustained
us through the blessings and the challenges we have experienced,” he said. “We remember
the priests, consecrated religious and lay faithful who have served here. It is
also an occasion to renew our commitment to offer dedicated and generous
service to the Lord, his church and one another.”
Bishop Michael F. Burbidge uses incense to bless the
altar at Holy Martyrs of Vietnam Church in Arlington during the Mass to celebrate
the parish’s 40th anniversary Sept. 15. ZOEY MARAIST | CATHOLIC HERALD
Like many of the people he is
shepherding, Father Dang was born in Vietnam and moved to the United States in
the 1980s. He was ordained a priest July 9, 1999, in Vancouver, Canada, and
spent most of his priesthood serving parishes in Canada. As Father Dang has come
to know his new parish, he’s been pleased to see the number of youths involved
in religious education and the number of volunteers at the parish of more than
6,000 members. “I’m looking forward to working with all these people,” he said.
Holy Martyrs was founded after the fall
of Saigon brought waves of refugees to the United States. In 1976, the Diocese
of Arlington had more Vietnamese refugees than any other diocese in the country
except Los Angeles. The director of the diocesan Migration and Refugee Services
at the time, Deacon Daniel F. Resendes, estimated that during his time, 15,000
refugees were served. The many Catholic Vietnamese men and women soon wanted a
place to worship.
To get the fledgling parish off the
ground, Deacon Resendes and Msgr. Richard J. Burke traveled to a refugee camp
in Pennsylvania to recruit Vietnamese priests and met founding pastor Father Nhat
Duy Tran. The community, which officially become a parish in 1979, first worshipped
in Annandale before moving to its current location in Arlington.
After the Mass, parishioners enjoyed Vietnamese
food and traditional singing and dancing. Ngo, now a father of three, is
grateful for the diocese’s support of the parish and its people over the past
40 years. “This church allows my children to come and worship God and be part
of the community where they can practice their faith and their culture,” he
said.
