Vatican City (AsiaNews) – The celebration of the Year of the Eucharist is breathing new life into the Vietnamese Church, a Church whose members really practice their faith, this according to Mgr Pierre Trân Ðinh Tu, Bishop of Phú Cuong, who spoke at the Synod of Bishops currently underway at the Vatican.

"Vietnamese Catholics are practicing," he said. "For them, the Eucharistic celebration is of special importance. About 80 per cent attend mass on Sundays, and 15 per cent during weekdays. On important feasts, such as Christmas and Easter, the number may reach 95 per cent. If one wishes to find out the cause, one can find [. . . it] in the catechistic formation and family education."

"In this year of the Eucharist," he added, "all the dioceses prepared special programs. The [. . .] faithful are made aware of and invited to study the documents of the Magisterium of the Church on the Eucharist. For the celebrations, the Episcopal Conference organized a Eucharistic Congress at the Centre Marial National de Lavang, [. . . which drew] 500,000 participants."

What's more, "[not only do] all the dioceses have special programs, [but] parishes have been invited to build adoration halls outside their churches and organize permanent adorations or [set aside] several hours in the day [for adoration]. There are already several parishes that follow this practice."

Bishop Trân ended saying that "Eucharistic worship in Vietnam has had positive effects: religious life has increased, community activities are more lively, fraternal communion is more sensitive and mutual aid among families has become more natural and frequent. In brief, one has the right to hope that Eucharistic devotion will bring many [good] results to our country."