The Provincial in Viet Nam
Our provincial administration has decided to visit some Oblate Units (Provinces, Delegations, Missions) to begin to develop collaborative relations with OMI Lacombe Canada. Recently I visited the Mission of Vietnam and presently Ken Thorson is in Poland. Jim and Ken Thorson plan to visit India in December. The 36th General Chapter has called us to embrace “Interculturality” as an Oblate witness in our multicultural wor
ld which still tends toward assimilation by the dominant culture. Will we welcome men from other Units, other cultures in a positive expression of religious life for these times? This will be one of the proposals to discuss at our Convocation in April, “Consider the 36th Chapter call to “Interculturality””.
Let me share with you some of my experience of Vietnam. I flew out on Sept. 19th and returned on October 1st. I journeyed to Saigon through Taipei. There is a 13-hour time difference from Ottawa. The flight to Taipei alone is some fourteen hours stretch. I must say that the travel arrangements though were excellent and the stop-overs were only a couple of hours. I was privileged to have Fr. Jacques Nguyen, OMI as my guide and interpreter, not to mention as my Uber motorcycle taxi driver. Traffic is a tremendous opportunity for prayer! Total chaos as everyone aggressively pushes forward toward some vacuum that might suck you into a new space. Obviously, the cars have the advantage because they only risk vehicle damage rather than loss of passenger life. Nairobi is a piece of cake in comparison. I drove about three days through Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) on the back of the motorbike. First day I clung to Jacques, but he noticed that as time went on I became more seasoned and no longer left any lasting scars on his torso. I even began to think about taking out my phone and capturing the life about me. If drivers can answer their phones in that pandemonium why not me? Many wear masks. I thought at first it was so that you couldn’t recognize them as they cut you off, but after a few days I began coughing and thought it could be the pollution.
Traffic in Saigon: Watch Youtube video!
Most of the lads in formation own their own motorbike which is valued at about $ 800. They pay their own petrol out of allowance. They purchase the motorbikes before they come as Aspirants and they are responsible for repairs but if they have difficulty they can ask community assistance. They park their bikes inside the house for security. Note the picture.
The Mission of Vietnam is a very young mission of France, only 16 years in existence. I had the opportunity to live with a young group of men who were aspiring to join the Oblates. There were seven fine young men in the house with an Oblate scholastic and two ordained Oblates, Fr. Jacques Nguyen and Fr. Roland Jacques. There are two such houses of Aspirants. The second is close by with Fr. Emmanuel Khurong, the mission superior, and Joseph, a brother, with twelve young men. They are studying completing their university degree (prior to Philosophy and Theology). This degree is financially supported by their families. There are another ten who are out on pastoral experience before Pre-Novitiate and eight others who live at home but come for monthly retreat at the house.
They teach one another to cook. I tried to be adventurous with meals including snake, pork ears and duck blood pudding. I enjoyed most of what was served but sometime was reluctant to ask what was in the “pho” as I saw dog 
meat hanging in their butcher shops. All in all I enjoyed most everything.
The Aspirant houses are the ground that feeds the growing plant. Above ground they have eighteen Pre-Novices (program one year in length). Presently there are ten novices at Our Lady of the Rosary Novitiate. At St. Eugene de Mazenod Scholasticate there are twenty young men studying Philosophy. They share that institution with eleven in Theology who are studying in Vietnam. In addition, there are three in Philippines, three in Rome, two in Sri Lanka and also two in Indonesia. Five are out on a pastoral year after two years in Philosophy. Four are ordained Deacons and are on their pastoral year.
The mission has several ministries which have been embraced. Some Oblates are serving as assistant priests in various Diocesan Parishes, but I believe the Oblates have only one parish which is under Oblate leadership. The communist government still controls the church in many ways. In 1975 a lot of church property was confiscated. Some small sign that relationships are ameliorating is evidenced in the return of various expropriated sites. Besides pastoral work in parishes the Oblates run an orphanage for 79 children. They also manage a guest house on the ocean near a Shrine to our Blessed Mother. They have 14 guest rooms that each bring in $20 US a night for operating income for the mission. Besides that, they rely heavily on mass stipends and subsidies from France, I presume. They also have a few ministries in the north near Hanoi which I didn’t visit.
Their young men in formation are very interested in learning English and they are encouraged to pursue this study in whatever way they can by their formators. The miss
ion would very much welcome an Oblate or lay person(s) to live with the scholastics teaching English.
Obviously if they could free some ordained Oblate, we would welcome him to work in our Vietnamese Ministry in Canada with Hanh Van Tran, but others possibly could join us in answering some of our other priorities that we have identified.
Tidbits for comparison: a high school teacher makes about $220 a month. The Novices receive 100,000 Dong for security purposes if they find themselves in need ($5.45 CDN). The Scholastics receive 500,000 Dong a month as allowance ($27.27 CDN). Families are encouraged to help with this pocket money. Internal life of the community, food, shelter, internet etc. paid by community. Oblate priests have mass stipends for their means. The Mission Administration monthly send 30 mass stipends to priests who have no Parochial Ministry such as Jacques Nguyen. Each then sends back the stipend of ten masses when acquitted to assist the mission.
I conclude by expressing my gratitude to the Oblates of the Vietnam Mission for their great hospitality. In particular, gratitude is owed to Fr. Jacques Nguyen and Fr. Emmanuel Khurong, the mission superior. I also am grateful, to the young Aspirants who shared their home with me. Your spirit of community and prayer is hope for me.
By Fr. Ken Forster, OMI