Wearing a large wooden cross made by lepers, he is leading a diocese with 4 large leper camps after living 16 years with lepers.
Looking at the soft spoken bishop, small even by Vietnamese standard, one can't help wondering what his daily life would be as the head of a diocese embattled by both hard-line religious policies of the communists and US airstrikes during the Vietnam War. However, three years after his appointment, there have been indeed significant changes in the life of a diocese which was home to 12 of the Vietnamese martyrs who gave their lives to proclaim the Christian faith during the most difficult times in the Church's history.
The number of faithful in the diocese of Bac Ninh, roughly thirty kilometres North-east of Hanoi, has reached to 125,000, a humble number in comparison to the population of 8 million in the region. Yet, it is the quadruple of the diocesan population at the time of the communist takeover of the North in 1954.
During the entire period of 1954 to 1963, the diocese had only 1.5 priests (one priest with permission to say Mass and administer sacraments while the other was an "underground" priest who carried out pastoral activities at his own risks of being arrested and jailed). The number of priests in the diocese has grown rapidly to 57.
From virtually zero in number following the 1954 mass exodus of Catholics to the South, nowadays 300 nuns in Bac Ninh are teaching Catechism to young children and taking care of residents in the four leper camps.
The diocese has sent 4 priests, 2 seminarians, and 3 nuns to study in Europe.
Despite visible signs of success, Bishop Cosme Hoang Van Dat, the bishop of lepers (as many would like to refer to him), often denies them attributing improvements of the diocese to Divine Providence.
“I do not know how to lead a diocese. I only have experience with lepers from pastoral activities among them for decades. I just do what is needed to be done,” said the humble bishop, who speaks fluently English, to Asia-News right after he had said Mass to the Australian parish of Good Shepherd in Lockridge, Perth on July 11 on his recent visit to Australia. As the general secretary of Episcopal Conference of Vietnam, he was designated to represent Vietnamese Bishops in the ordination ceremony of Bishop Vincent Nguyen Van Long, the first Vietnamese bishop in Australia.
Humility, simplicity and openness to God, to the Church, and to lepers have characterised Bishop Cosme Hoang. However, he is also an outspoken bishop. On Sep. 9, 2008, despite the government threat that his bishop ordination which would occur a month later could be cancelled, he led 39 priests and hundreds of faithful to Thai Ha to express his support to Hanoi Redemptorists. "I have prayed for you from afar", he said on arriving, "and today I want to be with you, in the place where I went to Mass as excited a child at a party, to express my solidarity with you". A week before he had gone to Tam Dao to reconsecrate a church taken by the communists during 54 years. As a result, he was in the eye of a state media storm for weeks.
Despite local government's restrictions and bureaucratic censorship, the prelate has made 251 pastoral visits to parishes in the diocese spanning in a vast midland area of 24,000 square kilometres, personally tending to the religious activities of more than 125 thousands of his faithful, compared to his less fortunate predecessor Cardinal Pham Dinh Tung, who could only make 5 visits due to his being under house arrest in most of his 31 years of bishopric.
During the Vietnam War, Bac Ninh province was hit hard by US airstrikes due to its proximity to the capital city of Hanoi. The fate of the Church at the time was so gloomy with 80% of churches being destroyed or ruined, people being scattered, and most priests being in jailed (Among those priests who are currently working in the bishopric see of Bac Ninh, one had been jailed for 15 years, one for 12 years, one for 10 years and another for 4 years). Some congregations, left without a place for worship or pray, had to use grain storing huts as a gathering place to pray or read Bible among them.
The first priority of the prelate has been to rebuild these venues of worship. The diocese now has 336 points of missionary (200 of them with a church, or a chapel, the rest with a makeshift house of worship). Every week, 57 priests and the prelate himself faithfully travel hundreds of kilometres through steep, muddy roads and thick jungles to celebrate and administer sacraments. These tremendous efforts allow Catholics to have Mass and sacraments more frequently.
It's worth noting that in Vietnam, where rate of abortion stands the highest in the world, abortion is seen by the government as main remedy for family planning. Since more and more women seek this quick solution to hut, the Church therefore is facing an uphill battle to fight against this pro-choice trend. Church officials acknowledge the fatigue suffered by many Catholic priests in their pro-life efforts. However, in the diocese of Bac Ninh, hope has never been extinguished. To carry out this mission, nuns in the diocese have taken home un-wed and poor pregnant women providing residence and financial support for them until they give birth. They even go further to adopt children who their parents are so poor to nurture and educate them.
Bac Ninh, known to the world as one of the cradles of Vietnamese civilization where Quan Ho folks songs had been born and cherished by many, has been living up to its reputation with native talents every year performing traditional dances during May or " Month of the Flowers", as it's often referred to by Vietnamese Catholics. This special feature, uniquely from Bac Ninh, is a special dedication to Our Lady. The dance presents young girls in ritual dances of flower offering in every church during the dedicated month of May throughout the diocese. Many of the dancers are non-Catholics, drawn to the church first for the love of performing art, then for exploring about the Church and its teachings.
Under bishop Cosme Hoang's leadership, diocese of Bac Ninh a place where the non-Christian population is still predominant is thriving slowly but surely. Several priests have been assigned to the remote regions for the purpose of reaching out to those who are yet to know God. Fr. Joseph Nguyen Van Tinh is among the chosen ones. Right after his ordination into priesthood on April 16 of this year, he had gone to the far northern tip of Ngan Son with a mission to lead a parish of 33 people with virtually nothing: no church, no presbytery, and no parish council. He however has his flock's appreciation.
As his motto suggested, the Most Reverend Cosme Hoang Van Dat has been dedicating his entire life to what he thinks are the most important: love and life.
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| Bishop Cosme saying Mass at Lockridge |
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| Bishop Cosme with lepers |
The number of faithful in the diocese of Bac Ninh, roughly thirty kilometres North-east of Hanoi, has reached to 125,000, a humble number in comparison to the population of 8 million in the region. Yet, it is the quadruple of the diocesan population at the time of the communist takeover of the North in 1954.
During the entire period of 1954 to 1963, the diocese had only 1.5 priests (one priest with permission to say Mass and administer sacraments while the other was an "underground" priest who carried out pastoral activities at his own risks of being arrested and jailed). The number of priests in the diocese has grown rapidly to 57.
From virtually zero in number following the 1954 mass exodus of Catholics to the South, nowadays 300 nuns in Bac Ninh are teaching Catechism to young children and taking care of residents in the four leper camps.
The diocese has sent 4 priests, 2 seminarians, and 3 nuns to study in Europe.
Despite visible signs of success, Bishop Cosme Hoang Van Dat, the bishop of lepers (as many would like to refer to him), often denies them attributing improvements of the diocese to Divine Providence.
“I do not know how to lead a diocese. I only have experience with lepers from pastoral activities among them for decades. I just do what is needed to be done,” said the humble bishop, who speaks fluently English, to Asia-News right after he had said Mass to the Australian parish of Good Shepherd in Lockridge, Perth on July 11 on his recent visit to Australia. As the general secretary of Episcopal Conference of Vietnam, he was designated to represent Vietnamese Bishops in the ordination ceremony of Bishop Vincent Nguyen Van Long, the first Vietnamese bishop in Australia.
Humility, simplicity and openness to God, to the Church, and to lepers have characterised Bishop Cosme Hoang. However, he is also an outspoken bishop. On Sep. 9, 2008, despite the government threat that his bishop ordination which would occur a month later could be cancelled, he led 39 priests and hundreds of faithful to Thai Ha to express his support to Hanoi Redemptorists. "I have prayed for you from afar", he said on arriving, "and today I want to be with you, in the place where I went to Mass as excited a child at a party, to express my solidarity with you". A week before he had gone to Tam Dao to reconsecrate a church taken by the communists during 54 years. As a result, he was in the eye of a state media storm for weeks.
Despite local government's restrictions and bureaucratic censorship, the prelate has made 251 pastoral visits to parishes in the diocese spanning in a vast midland area of 24,000 square kilometres, personally tending to the religious activities of more than 125 thousands of his faithful, compared to his less fortunate predecessor Cardinal Pham Dinh Tung, who could only make 5 visits due to his being under house arrest in most of his 31 years of bishopric.
During the Vietnam War, Bac Ninh province was hit hard by US airstrikes due to its proximity to the capital city of Hanoi. The fate of the Church at the time was so gloomy with 80% of churches being destroyed or ruined, people being scattered, and most priests being in jailed (Among those priests who are currently working in the bishopric see of Bac Ninh, one had been jailed for 15 years, one for 12 years, one for 10 years and another for 4 years). Some congregations, left without a place for worship or pray, had to use grain storing huts as a gathering place to pray or read Bible among them.
The first priority of the prelate has been to rebuild these venues of worship. The diocese now has 336 points of missionary (200 of them with a church, or a chapel, the rest with a makeshift house of worship). Every week, 57 priests and the prelate himself faithfully travel hundreds of kilometres through steep, muddy roads and thick jungles to celebrate and administer sacraments. These tremendous efforts allow Catholics to have Mass and sacraments more frequently.
It's worth noting that in Vietnam, where rate of abortion stands the highest in the world, abortion is seen by the government as main remedy for family planning. Since more and more women seek this quick solution to hut, the Church therefore is facing an uphill battle to fight against this pro-choice trend. Church officials acknowledge the fatigue suffered by many Catholic priests in their pro-life efforts. However, in the diocese of Bac Ninh, hope has never been extinguished. To carry out this mission, nuns in the diocese have taken home un-wed and poor pregnant women providing residence and financial support for them until they give birth. They even go further to adopt children who their parents are so poor to nurture and educate them.
Bac Ninh, known to the world as one of the cradles of Vietnamese civilization where Quan Ho folks songs had been born and cherished by many, has been living up to its reputation with native talents every year performing traditional dances during May or " Month of the Flowers", as it's often referred to by Vietnamese Catholics. This special feature, uniquely from Bac Ninh, is a special dedication to Our Lady. The dance presents young girls in ritual dances of flower offering in every church during the dedicated month of May throughout the diocese. Many of the dancers are non-Catholics, drawn to the church first for the love of performing art, then for exploring about the Church and its teachings.
Under bishop Cosme Hoang's leadership, diocese of Bac Ninh a place where the non-Christian population is still predominant is thriving slowly but surely. Several priests have been assigned to the remote regions for the purpose of reaching out to those who are yet to know God. Fr. Joseph Nguyen Van Tinh is among the chosen ones. Right after his ordination into priesthood on April 16 of this year, he had gone to the far northern tip of Ngan Son with a mission to lead a parish of 33 people with virtually nothing: no church, no presbytery, and no parish council. He however has his flock's appreciation.
As his motto suggested, the Most Reverend Cosme Hoang Van Dat has been dedicating his entire life to what he thinks are the most important: love and life.