“My priority will be to announce the Good News to indigenous villagers, educate children, and help people preserve their linguistic and cultural traditions,” said Fr Guise Má A Cả, 38.
Hanoi (AsiaNews) – Vietnam’s first ethnic Hmong priest was ordained in the Diocese of Hung Hóa on 13 October in a ceremony led by the diocese’s apostolic administrator, Bishop Phêrô (Peter) Nguyễn Văn Viên.
The new priest, Giuse (Joseph) Má A Cả, is 38 years old. Like him, 10 deacons from the Diocese of Hung Hóa were also ordained priests. The latter is the largest diocese in Vietnam, covering seven provinces and a part of metro Hà Nội (Hanoi).
Due to the pandemic, families and local authorities were unable to take part in the service.
Fr Cả was born in 1983 into a family that includes 11 brothers and sisters. He grew up in Sapa, a parish located in Lào Cai province, home to a large Hmong Christian community. The local parish priest, Fr Phêrô Phạm Thanh Bình, accompanied him in his vocation.
In 2011 he entered the Saint Joseph Seminary in Hà Nội. In February 2020, after his ordination to the deaconate, Fr Cả said: “My priority will be to announce the Good News to indigenous villagers, educate children, and help people preserve their linguistic and cultural traditions.”
For Hmong people, the Church is not only a spiritual point of reference, but also a cultural one. The new priest has been assigned to Đồng Hẻo parish, where some 1,700 Hmong Catholics live.
Sister Maria Khứ Thị Quỳnh Hoa, a Dominican nun from the Diocese of Bắc Ninh, expressed joy for Fr Cả’s ordination. She is the first ethnic Hmong woman religious.
"We are happy and thank God,” she said, noting that the presence of a priest of her own ethnic background will encourage many young people to follow their vocation and put themselves at the service of their communities.