Mgr Girelli tells faithful in Lang Son that we must “know how to choose the best way to follow Jesus”
The nuncio to Vietnam celebrated Palm Sunday, the "big door" that "introduces us to the Holy Week". In the diocese on the border with China, almost all the faithful belong to ethnic minorities.
Hanoi (AsiaNews) – In his exhortation on Palm Sunday, Mgr Leopoldo Girelli, non-resident nuncio to Vietnam (pictured), told the faithful in Lạng Sơn, diocese of Lạng Sơn and Cao Bằng, that we must know how to choose the best way to follow Jesus who promises "the happy kingdom".
His comments focused on the behaviour of the "people of Jerusalem" who hailed Jesus as king of Israel on Palm Sunday, only to shout at Pilate 'Crucify him' a few days later.
The Diocese covers the provinces of Lạng Sơn and Cao Bằng on Vietnam’s northern border with China, some 17,812 sq. km. With 5,364 members, 3 per cent of the local population, divided among 24 parishes with 18 priests, it is the diocese with the smallest number of Catholics.
"Almost all the faithful in the diocese belong to ethnic minorities,” Sister Điệp, a Dominican nun, told AsiaNews, “virtuous people, simple and honest in their everyday life.”
“They love and obey the Holy See. They live every circumstance with strong faith and have hope in the Easter season. Each of them carries the Good News to many people."
On 12 March, Pope Francis decided to transfer two bishops of the Vietnamese Bishops' Conference. Mgr Joseph Đặng Đức Ngân (1957), the current bishop of Lạng Sơn and Cao Bằng, will go to the diocese of Đà Nẵng, whilst the current Bishop of Đà Nẵng, Mgr Joseph Châu Ngọc Tri (1956), will go to the diocese of Lang Son and Cao Bằng.
"Let us pray and thank God” for this. “We are grateful to Pope Francis, and we thank the Holy See and the prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples. Let us welcome Bishop Joseph Châu Ngọc Tri,” Mgr Joseph Đặng Đức Ngân told the faithful of the diocese upon hearing the news.
The diocese of Lạng Sơn and Cao Bằng will welcome the new bishop in the cathedral on 9 April and all the faithful of the diocese of Đà Nẵng will greet Bishop Joseph Đặng Đức Ngân in the cathedral.
Together with Mgr Joseph Đặng Đức Ngân, Nuncio Mgr Girelli celebrated Palm Sunday Mass, which he defined as the "big door" that "introduces us to the Holy Week."
"This week marks the culmination of the mystery of the Redemption. Jesus goes to Jerusalem to complete the Word of God. He is crucified on the Holy Cross to give the grace of salvation to all."
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