29-05-2025
Faith helps Vietnam's Catholics overcome war scars, hardship
Catechumens join the offertory procession during a Mass for baptism of Catholic converts in Phu Cam Cathedral in Hue, Vietnam on May 24. (Photo: Archdiocese of Hue)
HANOI: Irenaeus Ho lost his right leg during the Vietnam War, but he never misses out on Sunday Mass at his small parish Church in Quang Tri he was a teenager, Ho was a South Vietnamese soldier and fought against northern communist forces until he was seriously injured in a battle at Khe Sanh in 1968.'In those days, we didn't dare dream of having a church here,' Ho told UCA the war ended in 1975 and the communists took over all of Vietnam, soldiers and civil servants like Ho who worked under the Western-backed South were detained, sent to re-education camps and forced to clear land Catholics were forced to relocate to other areas as a form of punishment after being labeled as traitors and anti-communist. Churches and Church-run properties were confiscated nationwide.'This land was destroyed by war, and religion was under tight control for decades,' Ho Ba Long sub-parish in Khe Sanh was once dubbed 'hell on earth' during the war. When the fighting intensified, most of the local Catholic population fled south or were detained, sent to re-education camps, or crossed the border into Laos.A Catholic father of four and now in his seventies, Ho was among many Catholics forcibly resettled in Ba Long decades ago. There was no Church, no priest and no religious activity due to an unofficial but effective ban on recalled that Catholic families lived under surveillance, endured discrimination, and faced restrictions on their religious practices.'Back then, we had to walk 70 kilometers through forests to attend Mass in Dong Ha and stay the night just to join the Sunday liturgy,' he recalled. 'Government officials insulted and threatened us when we returned.'Priests ministered discreetly. Father Francis Xavier Le Van Cao, then pastor of Dong Ha Parish, would disguise himself as a farmer and bike to Khe Sanh to administer sacraments secretly. He dared not celebrate Mass openly, fearing local chapel, bombed in 1968, lay in ruins for years. But faith refused to die. Families gathered quietly to pray.'Those were painful years, but they strengthened our belief and deepened our unity,' Ho said.
'Rising from the ashes'
Prompted mainly by Vietnam's worsening socio-economic situation following the war, the communist government adopted the Doi Moi (renovation) policy in the 1980s.
From ruins to renewal
After the country's 1975 reunification, Hue archdiocese — like many other dioceses in the Southeast Asian country — saw its seminaries, schools, hospitals, charities and other facilities confiscated by the government.
A Church reborn
Further south, covering Vietnam's largest city, Ho Chi Minh City, the Catholic Church has experienced a dramatic resurgence.
Faith passed on with gratitude
For younger generations, the sacrifices of their parents and grandparents are a source of deep pride.
'For the past 50 years, we have lived our faith by loving, forgiving, and entrusting everything to God — even in the darkest times,' Tran
