ROME, SEPT. 23, 2010 (Zenit.org).- A gathering of some 2,000 faithful at a Mass in Ho Chi Minh City marked the eighth anniversary of the death of Cardinal François Xavier Nguyen van Thuân, the prelate who became known worldwide for his holiness in the face of fierce persecution.
Cardinal Van Thuân died Sept. 16, 2002, in Rome.
During his episcopal ministry in Vietnam, he spent more than 13 years in a Communist «re-education» camp, nine of those in solitary confinement.
Years later, after his forced exile from Vietnam, he was appointed president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. He preached spiritual exercises to Pope John Paul II and the Roman Curia in 2000 and the next year, was made a cardinal.
His cause of beatification was opened on Sept. 16, 2007, on the fifth anniversary of his death.
This Saturday in Italy, there will be a symposium marking the eighth anniversary of his death at the Verona-based International Observatory Cardinal Van Thuân On the Social Doctrine of the Church.
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On the Net:
International observatory: www.vanthuanobservatory.org/?lang=en
