Ho Chi Minh City bids farewell to Cardinal Phạm Minh Mẫn

The funeral of the cardinal, who led the Church in Saigon from 1998 to 2014 and passed away on Sunday at the age of 93, took place today. Mons. Peter Van Kham, who served as his auxiliary bishop, recalls: "He always placed his trust in the Lord. And he knew how to involve everyone in the mission of making Christ’s love ever more widely known.”

Ho Chi Minh City (AsiaNews/Agencies) – The Vietnamese Church today bid a final farewell to Cardinal Giovanni Battista Phạm Minh Mẫn, Archbishop Emeritus of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), who passed away on 22 March at the age of 93.

The service, presided over in the cathedral by the current archbishop, Msgr. Giusppe Nguyễn Năng, was also attended by the only other living Vietnamese cardinal, Cardinal Pietro Nguyễn Văn Nhơn, Archbishop Emeritus of Hanoi, who is also in his nineties.

A native of the Diocese of Cân Tho and a priest since 1965, he had also served for several years as Bishop of My Tho before being called in 1998 by St John Paul II to lead the Archdiocese of Saigon. Cardinal Phạm Minh Mẫn was a central figure in the new era of vitality experienced by the Vietnamese Church in the 2000s. Created a cardinal by Pope Wojtyla in 2003, he led this historic see in southern Vietnam until 2014.

The homily at the funeral was delivered by the Bishop of My Tho, Bishop Pietro Nguyễn Văn Khảm, who served as auxiliary bishop of Ho Chi Minh City during Cardinal Pham Minh Man’s episcopate.

He recalled above all his great trust in God, who guides our path. “Fr. John Baptist Phạm Minh Mẫn,” he said, summarising some key moments of his life, “was rector of the Major Seminary of Cần Thơ, then was appointed coadjutor bishop of Mỹ Tho. He still had little direct pastoral experience. Yet he was called to lead Saigon, a large and central diocese within the Church of Vietnam: how could one not feel concerned? For this reason, his ‘yes’ was not based on his own abilities, but on obedience to the faith and total trust in God. “I believe,” he continued, “that this was the fundamental choice and the constant attitude of his life: aware of his own limitations and the weight of the mission, he entrusted himself completely to the Lord.”

Bishop Van Kham also highlighted Cardinal Phạm Minh Mẫn’s ability to seek the collaboration of everyone in leading his Church. “The senior priests of Saigon,” he said, “recall that, upon his arrival, in addition to the Vicar General, he appointed several episcopal delegates for priests, religious and laypeople. He established an Advisory Council that met every Friday, and he rarely missed a meeting: there he listened to different opinions before making decisions. “He did not involve only priests and religious,” added the Bishop of My Tho, “but he placed particular value on the laity, recognising in them a great resource yet to be developed. For this reason, he promoted traditional associations and founded new ones for teachers, healthcare workers, entrepreneurs… all with the aim of making Christ’s love ever more widely known.”