Father Vinh Van Vu, CRM, celebrates silver ordination anniversary to the priesthood
Father Vinh Van Vu, CRM, prepares the Eucharist for distribution during a special Mass celebrating his 25th anniversary of ordination to the priesthood, on June 8 at Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Fort Worth. (NTC/Ben Torres)
FORT WORTH — On Pentecost Sunday, Father Vinh Van Vu, CRM, was joined by the faithful of Our Lady of Fatima Parish as well as his youngest brother, Father Khanh Emmanuel Vu, CRM, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood with a special Mass on June 8.
“Today is a very solemn and joyful day, not only for our parish priest as he celebrates his 25th anniversary of priesthood, but also for our entire community, especially for the four parishes that he has served for 25 years,” said Thanh Bùi, the parish’s pastoral assistant, extending a warm welcome to visitors. Parishioners from churches
Fr. Vu served in Amarillo and Port Arthur, as well as from his former parish, Vietnamese Martyrs in Arlington, helped fill every pew.
Before the final blessing, Fr. Vu addressed the faithful, thanking them for their prayers. “I see this ceremony is really a very dear thing, a love that is especially for me on this day. I am very grateful and very appreciative of the love you have for this priest.”
Journey to the priesthood
Fr. Vu was born in North Vietnam just as Catholics in the country were navigating a complex political situation, in the midst of the First Indochina War. Like many Catholics in the country at the time, his family relocated to the South to escape the communist-controlled North.
The oldest of nine, Fr. Vu always felt drawn to religious life even as he served his parish as a young altar boy. He joined the Congregation of the Mother of the Redeemer community at the age of 14 on May 31, 1966.
“I entered when I was in high school. After that, I was a novice, and I became a monk,” he said.
Fr. Vu escaped from Vietnam after his community was “confiscated by the Viet Cong, so I fled from Vietnam to Thailand to come here [to the United States] to join with my order in October 1989.”
After being chosen to become a priest by his superior, the monk began his studies for ordination. Fr. Vu recalled how, as a deacon, he had the opportunity to meet Pope John Paul II in January 2000.
“It was great. There was a lot of excitement. I still have a picture,” Fr. Vu said with a laugh.
A few months later, Fr. Vu was ordained June 4, 2000, at the order’s monastery in Carthage, Missouri.
A simple, holy man
If searching for Fr. Vu, the first place to check is in the church, where he’ll be praying the Rosary.
“In my community, for a long time, we had to say about six rosaries a day.”
“That’s 300 Hail Marys,” Bùi said with a laugh.
“I’ve tried to keep up with it,” Fr. Vu said. “In my community, we have a devotion to Mary.”
Fr. Vu is well known for his concise and powerful homilies, Bùi said, as well as his reverence for the liturgy.
“I think we should serve people with our heart,” Fr. Vu said. “I feel God loves me so much, so I have to love people like He loves me. Serving with my homily or my service in Mass, I try to have people understand how God loves them so much.”
The father is a simple and holy man, Bùi said.
For example, when he isn’t in the church praying the Rosary, he might be baking a cake.
“The sisters kept complaining that we could never bake it like Father,” Bùi said. “The sisters advised that I ask Father, how long did you bake today’s cake? Father said three chains of joy. How long does peanut candy take, Father? Three and a half chains.”
Dedicated to the Eucharist
Deacon Michael Hoang observed the priest’s impact on the parish is appreciated by many parishioners.
When Fr. Vu first came to Our Lady of Fatima, roughly 12 people attended daily Mass, and now there are about 40. “We also have Eucharistic Adoration the whole day of Saturday,” Dcn. Hoang added.
“I try to help people understand it is a very important thing, the sacrament of the Eucharist, a sacrament of love,” Fr. Vu said.
A strong advocate for nurturing a love for Christ among young people, Fr. Vu has also boosted youth involvement by organizing graduation Masses for high school and college students, cheering on the parish volleyball team, and supporting the growth of the Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Movement in his parish.
A family reunited
This anniversary year has been one of joy and reunion for the priest, who will soon turn 73.
Within the past month, the father attended a retreat with his order in Missouri, and he will return to Vietnam with Fr. Khanh to visit their mother.
Sharing his gratitude to God for the opportunity to celebrate the Thanksgiving Mass for his eldest brother, Fr. Khanh told the North Texas Catholic, “I feel that God’s love is not only for the eldest brother of the family, but also for the whole Church, and through that, I see God’s love through the priesthood. I also want everyone’s heart to feel God’s love and to pray for priests to live holy lives. … On this occasion of his silver jubilee, may he always be at peace in his mission to always be a zealous and merciful shepherd as God has always desired.”