By Ana Rodriguez Soto - Florida Catholic newspaper
Photographer: ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FC
Father Joseph Long Nguyen stands in the middle of the old St. Charles Borromeo Church as volunteer workers from the Vietnamese community prepare it for its reopening as Our Lady of La Vang Vietnamese Mission.
�I�m really so happy,� said Bak Nguyen, one of more than two dozen volunteers, many of them elderly, who spent the past month in the heat and the sun, painting and planting, cleaning up and beautifying the church and its grounds.
Photographer: ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FC
Father Joseph Long Nguyen poses with some of the two dozen volunteers who have helped prepare the old St. Charles Borromeo Church for its reopening as Our Lady of La Vang Vietnamese Mission. From left: Thuc Nguyen, Khoi Nguyen, Van Nguyen and Francis Van. Except for the Vans, who are brother and sister, none are related. Nguyen is a very common surname in Vietnam. Most of the volunteers are retired, Father Nguyen observed: "They don't want to stay home. They want to get exercise and help."
�It�s like a new parish,� he said. �I support two churches.�
�The Vietnamese Catholic community have long yearned to have their own place where their faith could continue to grow while they maintained their language and culture,� said Archbishop Thomas Wenski, who is expected to make an official visit to the church©and celebrate Mass with the community©later this year.
Photographer: ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FC
Volunteer workers finish a baptismal pool in the back of the old St. Charles Borromeo Church. The walk-in pool that had been there before took up too much space. The work took two days and six laborers, led by a Vietnamese contractor, Amy Le, who volunteered her time and labor.
�Ten years ago, the people wanted to have a church,� said Father Joseph Long Nguyen (no relation), who was appointed Our Lady of La Vang�s administrator July 15. �Therefore, from that time, they started collecting money. But the dream did not come true. So when I came here, I started to revive the dream.�
Father Nguyen arrived in South Florida in November 2011. He took over as director of the archdiocese�s Vietnamese apostolate that December, when its previous director, Father Isidore Baky, retired from active ministry.
Photographer: ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FC
View of the exterior of Our Lady of La Vang Vietnamese Mission, known until 2009 as St. Charles Borromeo Church in Hallandale Beach.
Our Lady of La Vang Mission will open officially on Sunday, Aug. 31, with Masses in Vietnamese at 11:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. The Sunday after that, Sept. 7, Father Nguyen will add a 9:30 a.m. bilingual Mass©English and Vietnamese©to coincide with the beginning of the catechetical program for children, which holds classes on Sundays.
Photographer: ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FC
Father Joseph Long Nguyen stands next to an image of Our Lady of La Vang, venerated by the Vietnamese, which already has a place at the mission named after her.
Aside from Father Nguyen, Our Lady of La Vang Mission counts on the services of four Vietnamese sisters, members of the Lovers of the Holy Cross, who also were based at St. Helen.
Father Nguyen said about 180 children were enrolled in the apostolate�s catechetical program, and their noon Mass at St. Helen attracted nearly 600 people. The 7 p.m. Mass drew another 150 or so. He expects similar numbers at the mission.
�This place is very good for the people. From everywhere, they can come,� said the priest, noting that the archdiocese�s Vietnamese community is scattered throughout Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Weston. Some come from as far away as Boca Raton, in the Diocese of Palm Beach.
The grounds of Our Lady of La Vang Mission include a garden and grotto which Father Nguyen hopes to fill with an image of Our Lady of Lourdes. �I love the garden. I�m thinking about a meditation garden,� he said.
He also plans to refurbish and expand the 400-seat parish hall in order to rent it out, saying Vietnamese of all faiths �are looking for places to hold wedding receptions.�
Located next door to the mission is Archbishop Hurley Hall, an independent living facility for low-income seniors administered by Catholic Health Services. Father Nguyen said he has already received inquiries from residents about celebrating a Mass in Spanish.
If between 30 and 50 people attended, �I would create a Mass for them,� said the priest, who speaks French along with English and Vietnamese.
Born in Docmo, Vietnam, he was ordained for the Archdiocese of Toronto in 2002. He received a scholarship to study there in 1997, after his original ordination, set for 1992 in his home diocese, was not permitted by the communist government. Before coming to South Florida, Father Nguyen spent seven years working in the Diocese of Orange, Calif.
It�s a �long journey,� he said, referring to the local Vietnamese community�s quest for their own church. And �there are more challenges ahead. We hope people will show strong support to maintain the church.�
As for that statue of Our Lady of La Vang, it won�t be moving from St. Helen.
�Mary is for whole Church, not just Vietnamese,� he said. �It�s a gift to the parish.�
Photographer: ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FC
Vietnamese volunteers plant shrubs and flowers on the grounds of Our Lady of La Vang Mission in Hallandale Beach.
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