Cardinal Filoni, in Vietnam for the 50th anniversary of the diocese of Xuan Loc: the main theme, "The Family"
"Xuan Loc is the result of the Council, and as local Church, in recent years, it has taken on the task of proclaiming the Gospel and making you the true family of God," said Cardinal Fernando Filoni, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, during his visit to Vietnam, which ended yesterday. In Xuan Loc, located in the southeast of the country, on Saturday, January 24th, the cardinal presided the Eucharistic celebration for the fiftieth anniversary of the diocese. At the center of the community‘s five-year program in preparation for this anniversary was the family, in reference to the parish, to the mystery of the Church, to charity, to the proclamation of the Gospel and to the Eucharist. The prefect of Propaganda Fide expressed his appreciation for this path of the community and, recalling the theme: "To renew our faith so that our families and our parishes become God’s families," he said, "in this faithfulness, God will bless you with many vocations to support the spiritual good and the Gospel of mercy." In his homily, the cardinal emphasized the close tie between this local Church and the Council. Indeed, it was Paul VI, who, on October 14th, 1965, shortly before the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council, saw to the creation of this diocese along with that of Phu Cuong.