Ordained in Sơn Lộc cathedral, he heads a large diocese in northern Vietnam. His motto is “Unity and Love”. “The love of Jesus has enlightened and helped me realise God’s Will and I shall follow Him,” he said.
Hanoi (AsiaNews) – With his episcopal ordination on Monday, Bishop Đa Minh (Dominic) Hoàng Minh Tiến began his ministry in the Diocese of Hưng Hóa, northern Vietnam. His motto is “Unitas et Amor” (Unity and Love).
“Today is very important day for Hưng Hóa Diocese and for me,” Bishop Tién said in his address to the faithful during the ordination Mass in Sơn Lộc cathedral.
“I would like to thank God for the great mission he has given me and to Hưng Hóa Diocese,” he added. “Under all circumstances, God will always love and guide my vocation. I thank God. The love of Jesus has enlightened and helped me realise God’s Will and I shall follow Him.”
The new prelate also thanked Pope Francis who, on 18 December 2021, entrusted him with the Diocese of Hưng Hóa, which has 300,000 members and about 170 priests, scattered across 10 provinces of Northern Vietnam.
In his homily, the new bishop also mentioned Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, for his care and concerns.
Likewise, he thanked Archbishop Marek Zalewski, non-resident representative of the Holy See for Vietnam, and Cardinal Phêrô (Peter) Nguyễn Văn Nhơn, Archbishop Emeritus of Hanoi, together with all the bishops, priests, men and women of the Diocese of Hưng Hóa, for their presence, for praying for him, and for accompanying him in his new mission.
At the end of the service, Fr Gioan (John) Đặng Văn Ngân, Secretary General of the Priestly Council, and Fr Nghĩa, representative of all the religious groups of the Diocese of Hưng Hóa, quoted from Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus: “No matter how many sins and weaknesses we have, we are just a drop of water cast into the furnace of love that is burning of God.”
The new bishop was born on 7 January 1969 in the Diocese of Đà Lạt into a poor Christian family with eight siblings. In 1990 he graduated from a vocational school and worked in Cà Mau, the southernmost region of Vietnam.
During this time, the young Đa Minh discovered his priestly vocation and two years later he entered the seminary in the Diocese of Hưng Hóa where he was ordained a priest in 2006 near Nỗ Lực parish.
After his ordination he pursued his studies at the East Asian Pastoral Institute in Manila (Philippines) and the Charles Borromeo seminary in Philadelphia (United States).