Bishop Peter Nguyễn Văn Viên, apostolic administrator of Hung Hoa, ordained Hmong man Joseph Má A Cả and 10 others at Son Loc Cathedral in Son Tay town near Hanoi on Oct. 13.

Local Catholics including the new priests’ family members were not present at the ordination due to social distancing measures to contain Covid-19.

Dominican Sister Mary Cứ Thị Quỳnh Hoa, the first nun from the Hmong ethnic group, said: “We are full of the joys of spring about his priestly ordination and gratefully thank God for granting us the first Hmong priest since Catholicism was introduced to our ancestors over a century ago.”

Sister Hoa, who is from Giang La Pan Parish dominated by Hmong Catholics in Yen Bai province, said Father Ca's ordination will boost evangelization work among ethnic people and inspire youths to follow religious vocations to serve their communities.

Born in 1983 in a Hmong family with 11 siblings, Father Cả, a native of Hau Thao Parish in Lao Cai province, graduated from college before entering St. Joseph Major Seminary in Hanoi in 2011. He was spiritually led by Father Peter Phạm Thanh Bình of Sa Pa.

Source: ucanews.com