Cardinal Francois-Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan

http://www.radianttruthproject.blogspot.com

François-Xavier Nguyễn Văn Thuận

 

17 April 1928 – 16 September 2002

 

Hue, Province of Thua Thien, Vietnam
Born 17 April 1928

 

            François-Xavier Nguyễn Văn Thuận, Servant of God, was a Cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church.  Cardinal Thuan was born into a family with a long Catholic tradition.  His relatives were among the martyrs since 1698.  He was born at Phu Cam in the diocese of Hue, Province of Thua Thien, Vietnam and was the eldest of 8 children.  From an early age he was raised in a Catholic environment with deep faith, owning much to his exemplary holy mother, Elizabeth.  Every evening she told her son stories from the Bible and those of the martyrs of Vietnam, especially of his ancestors.  She introduced him to the example of St. Theresa of the Infant Jesus, taught him to love and forgive, and to cherish his homeland of Vietnam.

Ordained to Priesthood
11 June 1953

 

            Thuan entered the Minor Seminary in his early teens, and followed his studies in philosophy and theology at the Major Seminary Kim Long at Hue.  He was ordained priest on 11 June 1953.  In addition to his parish work at the Francis Xavier Parish, he also was Chaplain to the Hue Prison and to the Pellerin (Binh Minh) school of the De La Salle Brothers, where he himself had been educated. 

            Later he was sent to study Canon Law at the Pontifical University Urbaniana, the Propaganda Fide in Rome form 1956 to 1959.  He was awarded Doctor of Canon Law with High Distinction maxima cum lauda for his thesis on Military Chaplaincy in the World.  While studying in Rome, Father Thuan accompanied his uncle, Bishop Peter Mary Ngo Dinh Thuc, to a private audience with His holiness Pope Pius XII. 

 

            Upon his return to Vietnam, he was Professor and from 1962 the Director of the Minor Seminary Hoan Thien, and at the same time Vicar General of the Diocese of Hue from 1964 to 1967.

Consecrated Bishop
24 June 1967
 

 

            On 13 April 1967 Pope Paul VI named him Bishop, the first Vietnamese Bishop of Nha Trang, replacing Bishop Raymond Paul Piquet, M.E.P. (Bishop of Nha Trang from 1957 to 1967). 

            He was consecrated Bishop on 24 June 1967, the Solemnity of St. John the Baptist, at Hue by H. E. Angelo Palmas, Apostolic Delegate for Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.  He took as his motto:  Joy and Hope  (Gaudium et Spes). 

            His installation took place on 10 July 1967.  During his eight years in Nha Trang he spared no effort in the development of the diocese before the advent of difficult times.  He focussed on training the grassroot cadres, increasing the number of seminarians from 42 to 147, and of minor seminarians from 200 to 500 in four Seminaries, organized Inservice Coures for priests of 6 dioceses in Central Viet Nam.  He also organized other formation courses, such as development and training of youth associations, the laity, parish associations and parish councils with training courses for the Justice and Peace Movement, Crusillos and Focolare, and founded the Community of Hope and the Lavang Community.

Bishop Thuan wrote six circular letters for the formation of his diocese;

1.       Awake and Pray (1968)

2.      Strong in Faith, Advance with Serenity (1969)

3.      Justice and Peace (1970)

4.      The Mission of Christ is also our Mission

5.      Remembering 300 years (1971)

6.      Holy Years of Renewal and Reconciliation (1971)

            Bishop Thuan held various positions in the Vietnamese Episcopal Conference:  He was Chairman of the Justice and Peace committee, Social Communication Committee, and the Development of the Vietnam Committee in Charge of Corev to assist in resettlement of refugees from the war areas.  He was one of the founding members of hte Catholic radio Station Veritas Asia, Manila.  He frequently attended the Asian Bishops Conference in Asia.  He was named Advisor of the Pontifical Council of the Laity from 1971 to 1975. 

 

            It was during these meetings that he had the opportunity to meet with Pope John Paul II, then Archbishop of Cracow, and to learn from him of pastoral experiences during the most difficult period in Poland under the communist regime.  He was appointed Advisor, then member of the Congregation for the Evangelization of the Peoples, and member of the Congregation for Divine worship and the Discipline of Sacraments.

 

            On 23 April 1975 Pope Paul VI named him Archbishop Coadjutor with rights of succession to the Archbishop of Saigon, and at the same time named him titular Archbishop of Vadesi.  Six days later, Saigon fell to the Communist North Vietnamese Army.  The Communist regime did not approve of his appointment, his faith, and his family connection to Ngo Dinh Diem. The government forced him to return to Nha Trang.

Prisoner at Vinh Quant (Vinh Phu) Prison for 13 Years

            On the Solemnity of Assumption on 15 August 1975 he was detained and escorted to Nha Trang where he was held in house arrest at Cay Vong, but was later taken to North Vietnam where he was imprisoned for more than thirteen years, nine of which were spent in solitary confinement at Vinh Quant (Vinh Phu) prison, then in the prison run by the Hanoi Police.  In prison, he smuggled out messages to his people on scraps of paper.  These brief reflections, copied by hand and circulated within the Vietnamese community, have been printed in the book, The Road of Hope.   Through a network of influential overseas Vietnamese, including dignitaries like his former classmate Monsignor Tran Van Hoai, The Road of Hope was distributed worldwide.  Another book, Prayers of Hope, contains his prayers written in prison.  The Bishop fashioned a tiny Bible out of scraps of paper.  Sympathetic guards smuggled in a piece of wood and some wire from which he crafted a small crucifix, which  he wore proudly for the remainder of his life.

 

Confined to House Arrest in Archbishop's Residence in Hanoi

            On 21 November 1988, the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lady, Thuan was released from detention by the communist government and was 0rdered to live at the Archbishop’s residence in Hanoi.  He was forbidden to perform any pastoral work.  He was also forbidden travel outside the confines of the Archbishop’s residence.   In March 1989 he was allowed to visit his aged parents in Sidney Australia and travel to Rome to meet the Holy Father with his promise to return to Hanoi.

            In 1991 he was allowed to travel to Rome but was not allowed to return.  Ever since that time he lived in exile, though his heart was always with the Church in Viet Nam and his homeland.  He spared no efforts to assist social services for Viet Nam, for example leprosariums, Charitable organizations, research programs to promote the culture of Vietnam and of the Catholic Church in Viet Nam, reconstruction of churches, the training of seminarians as conditions allowed.  In spite of the persecutions imposed on the Church and on himself personally, he always lived and preached forgiveness and reconciliation.

            On 11 November 1994 the Holy Father named him Vice President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, and subsequently President of the same on 24 June 1998, replacing Cardinal Y. R. Etchegaray, who had retired. 

 

            During the time following his release from prison he underwent seven surgical operations.  Three of these surgeries caused him to develop serious infections and caused him to fall seriously ill.  The second to last operation was on 17 April 2001 at the Saint Elizabeth Medical Center in Boston, USA.  His last operation was on 8 May 2002 at Agostino Gemelli Hospital, a teaching hospital attached to the Catholic Sacred Heart University in Rome.  He was later transferred to Pio XI hospital for further treatment.

            During this time of exile from his Vietnam homeland, he was often invited to preach and lecture in many countries and to various audiences.  On 11 May 1998 he received an Honorary doctorate at the Jesuit University in New Orleans, Louisiana.  He also received other honorary prizes and titles.

            During Lent 2000 he received a special invitation from Pope John Paul II to preach the Lenten Retreat to the Curia, at the beginning of the third millennium.  When the Holy Father received him in private audience after the retreat, giving him a chalice, Cardinal said:  “24 years ago I said Mass with 3 drops of wine and 1 drop of water in the palm of my hand.  I never would have thought that today the Holy Father would give me a gilt chalice. Our Lord is grat indeed and so is his love.”

Elevated to the College of Cardinals
21 February 2001

 

            On 21 February 2001 he was elevated to the College of Cardinals by the HolyFather, Pope John Paul II, who named him Cardinal of the Church of Santa Maria della Scala.  This church is under the pastoral care of the Carmelite Fathers.

            Nguyen Van Thuan died of cancer in a clinic in Rome, Italy on 16 September 2002 at the age of 74.

 

 

Ten Rules of Life of Nguyễn Văn Thuận

†   I will live the present moment to the fullest.

†   I will discern between God and God’s works.

†   I will hold firmly to one secret:  prayer.

†   I will see in the Holy Eucharist my only power.

†   I will have only one wisdom:  the science of the Cross.

†   I will remain faithful to my mission in the Church and for the Church as a witness of Jesus Christ.

†   I will seek the peace the world cannot give.

†   I will speak one language and wear one uniform:  Charity.

†   I will have one very special love:  the Blessed Virgin Mary.        

Beatification Process Begins Road to Sainthood
16 September 2007

 

            On 16 September 2007, the fifth anniversary of the Cardinal’s death, the Roman Catholic Church began the beatification process for Nguyen Van Thuan.

            Pope Benedict XVI expressed “profound joy” at news of the official opening of the beatification cause.

            Roman Catholics in Vietnam also positively received the news on beatification process opening for the Cardinal.  In the words of a catechist from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ho Chi Minh City, “Nguyen Van Thuan is an example of holiness for Vietnamese Catholics and for the entire world.”

            In his 2007 encyclical, Spe Salvi, Benedict XVI referred to Thuan’s Prayers of Hope, saying:  During thirteen years in jail, in a situation of seemingly utter hopelessness, the fact that he could listen and speak to God became for him an increasing power of hope, which enabled him, after his release, to become for people all over the world a witness to hope – to that great hope which does not wane even in the nights of solitude.”

Prayer for the Beatification of

Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan

Prayer O mighty and eternal God, Father, son and Holy Spirit I offer thanks for giving to the Church the heroic testimony of Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan.

The sufferings he experienced in prison, which he united with the crucified Christ and commended to the maternal protection of Mary, is for the Church and the world a shining witness of unity and forgiveness, and of justice and peace.

His loving person and his Episcopal ministry radiate the light of faith, the enthusiasm of hope and the warmth of love.

Now, my Lord, through his intercession and according to your will, grant me the grace I am imploring in the hope that he will soon be elevated to the honor of sainthood.

Kinh Xin Ơn
Đức Hồng Y Phanxicô Xaviê Nguyễn Văn Thuận

Lạy Thiên Chúa toàn năng và hằng có đời đời, là Cha và Con và Thánh Thần, con cảm tạ Chúa vì đã ban cho Hội Thánh gương chứng tá anh dũng của Đức Hồng Y Phanxicô Xaviê Nguyễn Văn Thuận.

Kinh nghiệm khổ đau trong cảnh ngục tù,  được Ngài sống liên kết với Chúa Kitô chịu đóng đinh, và dưới bóng che chở hiền mẫu của Mẹ Maria, đã rèn luyện Ngài lên một chứng nhân sáng ngời cho Hội Thánh và toàn thế giới, về sự hiệp nhất và tha thứ, cũng như về công lý và hòa bình.

Con người dễ thương mến cùng với sứ vụ mục tử giám mục của Ngài tỏa chiếu rạng ngời ánh sang của đức tin, nhiệt tâm của niềm hy vọng và sức nồng ấm của đức ái.

Giờ đây, nhờ lời bầu cử của Ngài theo Thánh ý Chúa. Xin Chúa ban cho con được ơn đang khẩn cầu, với niềm hy vọng thấy Ngài sớm được vinh hiển trên bàn thờ.