The Sisters of Mary Queen of Peace, with Jesus at the centre of their vision, are a blessing that continues to bear fruit in the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn, said Archbishop Christopher Prowse as he presided at the ninth anniversary Mass of the Sisters’ community in Canberra, earlier this month.

The Sisters belong to the Congregation of Mary Queen of Peace in the Diocese of Ban Me Thuot in Vietnam, whose spirituality is inspired by Mary’s unreserved “Yes” to God and the knowledge that there is nothing God cannot do in advancing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

*Archbishop Christopher Prowse among worshippers at Bonner House in Canberra, this month. PHOTO: Supplied.*

Community leader, Sr Kim Ha, welcomed guests to the Sisters’ house in the suburb of Bonner ACT, named after Neville Bonner, an elder of the Jagera People who served as a senator in the Australian parliament (1970-1983). The Bonner House in Canberra was first blessed and dedicated on 8 March 2014.

The ninth anniversary Mass was concelebrated by Fathers John Armstrong and Troy Bobbin, with Deacon Duc Nguyen serving, and with Religious Sisters and Brothers from other Congregations present among the invited guests. Archbishop Prowse exhorted those present of Vietnamese origin to be “Vietnamese Australians”; that is, to retain their Vietnamese cultural heritage within the broader Australian community.

Following Mass, the Archbishop blessed a statue of Our Lady of La Vang, recently acquired by the Sisters. La Vang is a locale in Quang Tri province in central Vietnam. According to oral history, in 1798 during a period of severe persecution of the Catholic community in La Vang, the Virgin Mary appeared to the people hiding in a forest, wearing traditional Vietnamese dress and holding the infant Jesus. Their prayers were heard in heaven, she assured them, and directed them to the leaves of a particular tree for healing their illnesses. The story of Our Lady of La Vang, and the statue built at the site of the apparition, are beloved by Vietnamese Catholics. La Vang is considered to be a place of pilgrimage that still captures the hearts of people.

This article by Jeff Dutton was supplied to Pathways.