Vietnamese Catholics in Noumea, New Caledonia, were treated to Masses and pastoral care in their own language during Holy Week and Easter, thanks to a visit by Fr Viet Nguyen SVD.

Fr Viet is the Mission Secretary for the SVD Australia Province, and his visit to Noumea was part of a pastoral outreach begun in 2015 by former Mission Secretary, Fr Truc Phan SVD.

There are about 500 Vietnamese Catholics in Noumea, with up to 120 of those attending the Holy Week and Easter celebrations.

“There are five generations of Vietnamese people now living in New Caledonia,” says Fr Viet.

“And they want to maintain the Church life and carry on with their faith practice.”

The first Vietnamese people arrived in the Pacific Island nation in 1891 when the French government offered incentives, including a higher salary, for them to go and work in Noumea.

In addition to those free immigrants, the French also sent some Vietnamese prisoners to Noumea.

Nowadays, the descendants of those settlers are active participants in the society and economy, with many operating successful businesses and restaurants, while many of the younger generation work in office jobs.

“The younger people all speak French mostly, but the older generation are still more comfortable with Vietnamese, and they really appreciate having a Vietnamese priest come to celebrate Mass,” Fr Viet says.

“Apart from celebrating the Eucharist, I also heard confessions, visited the sick with Holy Communion and attended to any pastoral needs, such as blessing of houses.”

The Vietnamese Catholic community are normally served by a deacon who celebrates a regular communion service in French, and a French-speaking priest who celebrates Mass every two weeks.

However, it is the big feasts on the Christian calendar where the community really longs for the presence of a Vietnamese-speaking priest.

Following Fr Truc’s first outreach, Fr Viet visits Noumea at both Christmas and Easter and says this is part of the SVD commitment to supporting migrant and refugee communities.

“It is good to be there for the people, because they really value their faith and it really means a lot for them to have Mass and other sacraments in Vietnamese,” Fr Viet says.

PHOTOS

TOP RIGHT: Fr Viet Nguyen SVD with members of Noumea's Vietnamese Catholic community.

BOTTOM LEFT: Members of the community were plesed to be able to have the Holy Week and Easter liturgies in their Vietnamese language.