Story by Randy Porter
LINCOLN (SNR) – This year, the feast of St. Andrew Dung-Lac & Companions Nov. 24 will be observed by a Holy Mass celebrated by Father Joseph Thanh at the Lincoln parish named for the saint and 117 other martyrs.
Due to the pandemic, there will be no special public celebration.
The parish observes the feast day each year with a special celebration of the Holy Mass. The bishop or bishop emeritus attends, with lunch served after the liturgy.
Vietnamese Sisters
The Congregation of Missionary Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Mercy will still celebrate the feast day at their convent. The sisters will celebrate with three days of novena to the Vietnamese martyrs. They pray with intentions of thanksgiving.
The sisters also pray, through the martyrs’ intercessions, that all Vietnamese Christians live and share their faith to all people. They ask for all people to love each other. The sisters pray that people help each other through the pandemic and a flood currently devastating central Viet Nam.
Each day, they sing a song about the Vietnamese martyrs. The sisters also offer all of the intentions in daily Holy Mass, rosary and in daily prayers.
On Nov. 24, they will add one or two dishes to their dinner to make it special. After dinner, the sisters will celebrate with either movies or games.
The principal house of the congregation is in Vietnam. In 1975, some sisters escaped the Vietnamese Civil War by moving to Australia, and later, some came to serve in Lincoln. By 1998, the sisters living in Lincoln received permission to independently maintain their constitutions.
Consequently, the congregation was established by Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz May 4, 1999. The location serves the Bishop Emeritus Residence, Chancery, John XXIII Center, Kealy Hall, Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, St. Andrew Dung-Lac and Companions Parish, Pius X High School and Little Flower Childcare Center.
The Major Superior is Sister Mary Samantha.
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