Vietnam Ordains 76 Deacons, Plans Missionary Renewal

Vietnam's Catholic Church is turning a blessing into action, ordaining 76 transitional deacons this year while launching an ambitious plan to spread their growing ranks of clergy where they're needed most.

The newly ordained deacons come from across Vietnam's 27 dioceses and 83 male religious congregations, and they'll be ordained as priests in the coming year. The country now has about 6,000 priests and nearly 31,000 religious men and women serving an estimated seven million Catholics.

Vietnam has earned a reputation as a "vocation basket" for producing numerous new priests and religious workers each year. About 12 percent of seminarians in the United States are of Vietnamese origin, with up to 500 Vietnamese priests currently serving in American parishes.

But Church leaders recognize that numbers alone don't tell the whole story. Catholic commentator Petrus Do highlighted a striking imbalance: urban parishes often have two or three priests handling administration and major celebrations, while ethnic minority communities in the Central Highlands and northwestern regions wait months for a single Mass.

Some priests travel hundreds of kilometers through rugged terrain to reach simple chapels in remote areas. These underserved communities represent both a challenge and an opportunity for the growing number of clergy.

The Ripple Effect

Vietnam's bishops are addressing this gap head-on with a three-year pastoral plan starting in 2025. Each year focuses on deepening missionary commitment: helping individual Christians become missionary disciples in 2025-2026, building missionary communities in 2026-2027, and launching the entire Vietnamese Church outward in 2027-2028.

The initiative emphasizes training priests with a "missionary heart" capable of serving on the peripheries, not just comfortable urban parishes. Future priests are being encouraged to learn local languages, engage in social action, and share in the daily struggles of the communities they serve.

Church leaders want to move beyond traditional ten-year philosophical and theological studies to include sustained formation in missionary spirituality and interreligious dialogue. The goal is creating "missionaries of hope" who understand the pain, aspirations, and realities of the faithful they serve.

This transformation could have global implications as Vietnamese priests increasingly serve in neighboring Asian countries and distant parts of the world, bringing their renewed missionary spirit with them.