ASIA/VIETNAM - Eucharistic Youth Movement: A breeding ground for vocations

Tuesday, 17 June 2025 eucharist   youth   vocations  

Movement of Eucharistic Youth

Ho Chi Minh City (Agenzia Fides) - "The Movement of the Eucharistic Youth in Vietnam is the hope and the future of the Vietnamese Catholic Church since it has wonderful educational methods and no any other Catholic association with the Vietnam Church is as good and lively as the Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth," said Archbishop Joseph Nguyen Nang at the 6th National Conference of Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth. The Archbishop noted: "the animators, catechists and children are very enthusiastic people working actively in the apostolic mission in the Church of Vietnam. This is an excellent breeding ground for vocations to the priesthood, the consecrated life, and for enthusiastic religious and lay apostles."
The conference was held at Hanh Thong Tay Church in the Archdiocese of Ho Chi Minh City, South Vietnam, from June 12 to 14, 2025, in the presence of many priests and members of the Executive Board of the Diocesan Movement of Eucharistic Youth from the 27 Vietnamese dioceses.
Thanks to the shining examples of virtue of the Vietnamese martyrs, the Church of Vietnam always produces Catholic families who live a devout faith, and the Catholic associations that operate positively and enthusiastically in many parishes across the country, among those is "the Movement of Eucharistic Youth", a movement which boasts a solid organizational structure and strong operational vitality. Today, in the context of the society changing rapidly, the practice of faith in the religious life of the youth worldwide is showing sign of decline. Therefore, cultivating faith for young people in the Vietnamese Church is urgent and must be carried out strategically to educate the young generation with a solid foundation in their faith.
During the conference in Ho Chi Minh City, which addressed the theme of hope, particularly in the context of the Holy Year 2025, Bishop Peter Nguyen Van Vien, Chairman of the Vietnamese Commission for Youth and Eucharistic Children, said: "Hope does not only stop at the meaning of fulcrum spiritually but ‘Hope’ here also means a guiding light to the mission of educating and accompanying the youth today."
The general Secretary of the Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Movement, Father John Le Quang Viet summarized the results and fruits, as well as difficulties and concerns during the past years and expressed his wish for more attention and support from Bishops and parish priests from each diocese and parish so that it can really become a "nursery" for the future of the Vietnamese Church. A very good sign in the Vietnamese Church today is that many Minor Seminaries and Major Seminaries, and Religious Orders for men and women have officially listed the training of animators in their training program of the congregation. Hopefully this work will spread throughout the country, and that the bishops of the diocese will encourage seminarians and young priests to actively learn about the Youth and Eucharistic Movement to accompany the young generation of Vietnam where the proportion of young people is very high, especially for those between the ages of 10 and 24 account for more than 20% of the population.
The children who participate in the Eucharistic Youth Movement are usually teenagers who attend weekly catechism classes and mass at parishes on Sundays across the country. Besides, they also participate in monthly activities such as charity work and recreational activities.
The Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth is a movement founded on the model of the World Eucharistic Youth Movement, which originated in France. This movement began in 1929 in Vietnam and gradually found a positive response among Vietnamese clergy and laity in many regions. So far, this movement is developing strongly throughout the dioceses all over Vietnam. This is a Catholic Youth organization that gathers the children around Jesus the Lord with the aim of educating them in two aspects: training them to become both good citizens and Christians. The educational foundation of the movement are the Word of God and the teachings of the Catholic Church. The movement invites children to live according to the following principles: - To live following the Word of God and uniting with the Eucharistic by praying, receiving communion, and doing apostolic activity under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. – To promote humanism, preserving and promoting the cultural traditions of the Vietnamese people. (AD/PA) (Agenzia Fides, 17/6/2025)


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